Be Still.
Lately, I have been over analyzing and overthinking almost every aspect of my life. Spending time worrying about the future, holding onto the past, focusing on things that don’t matter and not spending time in the present moment. Luckily, the other night I got a wake up call from God when I was driving and finally just paused to look at the sky. I took a deep breath and prayed. I got home and walked up to my room and prayed more. When I opened my eyes, I noticed my bible sitting directly across from me on the shelf (it’s been a minute since I have spent time reading His word), I opened it to where I left the bookmark and read my notes on the page –
“Find the stillness.
Be still and know that I am God. – Psalm 46:10”
I smiled big, I knew that God really was there listening to me. It was then that I realized then all the temporary placeholders I had in my life that have caused me to feel empty, busy, stressed, and constantly searching for more. I was chasing after the thoughts and opinions of others, likes, comments, compliments, and attention. It’s so easy to become sidetracked in our fast-paced society and base our worth on what others are saying instead of what God is saying. Even without social media and technology, our lives are still busy and stressful- there always seems to be something. And of course, finding the stillness and just moments to breath every day has to be one of the toughest things to do.
It’s so important that we hit the pause button every once in awhile and just relax. The world offers many forms of temporary relief, temporary satisfaction, and temporary solutions. I look around and see people engulfing themselves into fleeting and misleading ways of life. We all live in this society where we are bombarded by billions of social media posts portraying “perfection.” We spend our lives trying to just be more. Be more in shape, have more money, more clothes, more traveling, more stuff, more spiritual, more liked, just trying to be more and have more. We never stop and truly think I am enough, and realize that we have the most when we appreciate present moments with the people we love.
Even if we really do think we have it all, all the money, travel plans, fancy clothes, and endless amounts of friends, does that really mean we have happiness? These pleasures of the world are hollow. When we spend too much time in these temporary things, we lose sight of what’s important. We always are ready for what’s coming and what’s next and we never stop to think “but what is happening in THIS moment, that TRULY matters.”
When we learn to accept everything the moment has to offer, we become more present and find time for things that matter. I encourage you to accept everything this moment has to offer you – learn from the lessons you’ve received up to this point and listen to the people God has placed in your path. Life is constantly moving and changing, but in that activity, I challenge you to find the stillness. It’s a delicate balance but if you can learn to be present without wishing it away to the future, you will find beauty and blessing in each moment and stage of life.
be still. be present. be content.