Saturday, December 24, 2016

2017 - In the Stillness

“Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.”

I love my early mornings. I mean I really LOVE them. There is a very special “air” in the morning that I am utterly convinced is specific to the early morning hours.

I've been (happily) up for four plus hours now. I don't have a list of to-dos this Christmas Eve clamoring for my time or attention. I don't suffer from insomnia. I'm not weird or deranged.  (grin)

Simply, I habitually go to bed early and rise early.

This Christmas Eve morning I was pondering "stillness" and what 2017 holds for me.

Last week at some point I took one of those humorous "What does 2017 hold for you?" Facebook quizzes because I had seen a post from a friend, linking it.

(FYI, she's going to be a millionaire in 2017, according to the quiz. It turns out – I'm going to get married. Do you hear me laughing? You should! (grin) )

I did the the quiz on my phone, and without realizing it, it posted to my Facebook! Oh, boy.

What alerted me to this fact is that I saw where someone whom I haven't spoken to in years wrote a negative comment and signed the comment AS GOD.

Seriously.

(Shaking my head at their lack of clear judgment.....or too much judgment....or both?!)

Moving on.

Back to 2017.

I know, I know; I hear you saying, ”It's just now Christmas; New Year's is next week.”

But, 2017 IS “just” NEXT week. Yikes!

Not unlike many of you, I have had a lot on my plate in 2016.

Prayerfully, I intend to simplify my life in 2017. I already live a pared-down existence, but with deliberation, a further thinning will occur.

This past week on my personal FB page I wrote, “There is a stillness experienced in the early, early morning that simply cannot be experienced any other time. The sky was particularly clear, and the moon and stars were particularly bright.....and not a sound anywhere. Time such as this morning causes me see to a greater level just how busy this world is that we live in daily. #visionworthearlybeginnings”

Stillness is my fuel. It truly is. It's my “secret ingredient” that grants me the ability to accomplish what I do on a daily basis without frazzling myself.

Bless my Mom and Dad! They raised me to consistently put Him first....not by their word only...but by their  deed.

I have fond, fond memories ...all the way through my high school years.... of waking early in the morning, to find my parents in their den chairs; silently, individually reading God's Word... and then sitting in silent meditation for who knows how long but God Himself.  They still do this... and I am blessed to capture those current memories every time I return home for an overnight-er.

THAT was (and is)  my example, and at nearly fifty years of age, my time in the early morning with God has been a cornerstone for as long as I can recall.

Psalm 63 is one of my favorite Psalms:

O God, Thou art my God; EARLY will I seek Thee: my soul thirsteth for Thee, my flesh longeth for Thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;
2 To see Thy power and Thy glory, so as I have seen Thee in the sanctuary.
3 Because Thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise Thee.
4 Thus will I bless Thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in Thy name.
5 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise Thee with joyful lips:
6 When I remember Thee upon my bed, and meditate on Thee in the night watches.
7 Because Thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of Thy wings will I rejoice.
8 My soul followeth hard after Thee: Thy right hand upholdeth me.
9 But those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth.
10 They shall fall by the sword: they shall be a portion for foxes.
11 But the king shall rejoice in God; every one that sweareth by Him shall glory: but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.

My prayer for YOU, as you take this upcoming week and weigh what your 2017 holds, is that you exercise stillness in YOUR 2017. If you consistently do, you will develop a “spiritual six-pack.”

Thereafter, rise from your time with God in the morning, and live, out large, John's words: “Let us not love with words or speech, but with action and truth.”


Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

See you all in 2017! 


No comments:

Post a Comment