Wondering, Wandering, and Writing

Be still.

How many times did I hear that?

How many times have I said that?

Sit still in class.
it still in church.
Stand still while in line.
Hold still while I get this splinter out.
Be still while I trim your bangs.
Can you not be still and quiet for two verses of scripture?
Be still and go to sleep.

Honestly – I gave up on using that last instruction.  I changed it to “Be still and quiet and make me think you’re asleep.”

“Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)

Oh that changes things a little.  “And know that I am God.”

At this stage of my life, I DO want to be still.  I want to rest – not just my body but my brain.  My body is willing to stop moving long before my brain is ready to shut down and be still.

Be still, my mind, be still!

I wonder ….. no, I know …… that just as it takes effort to make the body be still, it takes effort to make the mind be still.  And just like the body is never really completely still (as long as there is life in it), neither is the mind.  Perhaps the goal is not so much to be still as it is to be calm.  For some amount of time (probably short) to focus on things that are good, lovely, true, wholesome, and of God – that is the goal.

To be still does not mean to be motionless, but to be focused.  To calm the mind – and gain rest – is to be found not in the nothingness of being absolutely still and empty of thought, but in focusing on the creator of it all and his love for us.

#bgwww2025