Be Still…

Written by Alicia Stickles

“Be still and know that I am God.”

Be still. Seems more like a laughable ideal rather than a holy command seeing that mothering is a call to movement. Never sitting, always doing and somewhere in the scramble we are all just trying to enjoy a hot cup of coffee that hasn’t been warmed up three times.

Be still. God’s simplest but seemingly hardest command whose very root means “to sink, relax, or let go.” In the brief pauses of my day, I feel my soul longing for it; stillness.

Be still. What is it about stillness that fills up our soul like a deep breath? Is it because stillness is an invitation to the place where the whisper of God meets the worry of my life? 

Be still. Because there is knowing in the stillness. Not a head kind of knowing, but a deep knowing that allows you to sink into the love of your heavenly Father, relax your shoulders, and open your hands and let go.

So precious mama,

Be still and know that you are intimately known and fiercely loved anyway. (Psalm 139)

Be still and know that your shoulders are not big enough to carry your load of burdens, but God’s are.  (Psalm 55:22 & Matthew 11:28)

And mostly, 

Be still and know that a loving God is in charge and you are not. (Psalm 46:10)

And that makes everything ok.