Be Still

Reeeeelaxxxxxxxx. Reeeelaxxxxxxx. My mom would repeat over and over to me when I was young. It was so hard to sit still, so hard to release my tense muscles. I was always ready for action and had a bit of an anxious personality. I was a prime candidate for God to teach,

“Be still.”

I’ve had a number of those Be Still moments. Waiting for a job, waiting to get married, waiting to get pregnant, waiting to adopt, waiting in the hospital, and waiting for the end of unemployment. In the waiting, time ticks slowly. The pain of waiting is visceral.

Life is full of waiting. Waiting is unbearable if it isn’t accompanied by trust.

Looking back and seeing God’s hand helps me remember His way isn’t mine. God gave me my dream job, Tom and I have been married thirty years, my family has been formed by adoption and birth, my daughter was healed (she had a near fatal snowboard accident), and my husband got the perfect job after being laid off. The final result of the waiting was good.

God is good and great.

When I can match up my waiting with trusting in God’s plan, I find the strength to persevere with hope. It doesn’t make the time pass more quickly but my attitude is different. I’m able to get out of bed with the expectation that God knows what He’s doing.

My son is in a season of waiting. I’ve shared with him some of the things I’ve learned. I start with who God is….He is good and He is great. Then I remind my son (and myself), His way isn’t our way but His way is always much better.

Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10