Still and Small

February 22, 2015 by theseordinarygraces In Faith, Jesus, Motherhood 1 Comment

The house is still and silent. Upstairs, dreams are stirring and spinning in sweet, small heads. Breath is heavy. Blankets are warm.

Outside, the sky is black and shadows are deep. Light from our one street lamp reflects off a surface that better resembles an ice rink than a street. Since 5:30 this morning, not one car has disrupted the stillness.

But this stillness, these small, quiet moments won’t last. These moments are delicate and fleeting. Soon, the house will be abuzz with the whining of a dog, the declarations of hunger from three growing voices, the sizzle of bacon, the happy thunder of feet moving quickly back and forth. The day will fill quickly. Needs will be met, love will be given, life will be lived.

These moments are precious. My lifeline. These are moments when I can sit and be still, listen, settle in to the love and embrace of my faithful God. Times when God fills me up in order to pour me out.

I used to only look for God in the big, loud, showy moments. The knock-your-socks-off, how-can-this-not-be-God moments. Now, as a wife and a mother, it’s in the moments I meet Him at the kitchen table, coffee hot, Bible open, heart ready, that I find God. The times I make time to slow down, be quiet, and listen that I find He’s been there all along. Waiting for me, calling for me, bidding me come and rest. Find refuge in the shadow of His wings.

And so, my weary friends, might I suggest the same to you. Wake up a little earlier, stay up a little later, if you are still blessed with nap time, ignore the dishes and the laundry and sit. Close your eyes and listen for that still, small voice, that gentle whisper, that whispering of a gentle air that fills your heart and warms your soul.

Definitely pour out your heart to Him. Tell Him your sorrows and He will hold you while you cry.

Share your joys and He will smile and laugh right along with you.

Express your anger and frustration and He will understand.

But take time to listen. Because sometimes He’s not in the powerful winds or the mighty earthquakes.

Sometimes, we will only hear His quiet whisper if we listen for it.