Be Still My Soul

What load are you carrying today?  How heavy is it?  I imagine mine as a large bag, filled with an assortment of things, weighing me down.  It’s probably from ThirtyOne and has my monogram on the front because even my crap has to be cute.

Then I come to the feet of the One who has the strength to handle my burdens, the One who invites me to cast these cares on Him; He will sustain me.  I picture myself placing this pretty bag at his feet, opening it up and saying, do you see this?  Do you remember this?   The babies, the horses, the brothers & sisters, my girls, my friend, the ministry, our neighbors, the orphans, all these things, Jesus they are heavy on my heart.

I have to ask myself – how much am I carrying because it’s mine to carry?  Or how much am I supposed to be carrying to the feet of the One who is built for my cares?

God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall in to the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.
….
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
Psalm 46: 1-2, 10

His invitation is rest.  He invites us to cast our cares upon him, to know that He is God.  Even though the earth gives way and the mountains fall in to the sea, know that I am God.

Sometimes stillness is a scary place.  It’s in the stillness of the night that fear can creep in.  It’s in the stillness of the day that I wonder if I have done enough.  It’s in the stillness that I am tempted to question, God are you still there?  I think that’s why He says Be still, and know that I am God.

Be still and remember my faithfulness.  Be still and speak my truth.  Be still and claim my promises. When in the stillness the enemy lurks… remember that I am God.

Your love surrounds me when my thoughts wage war; when night screams terror there your voice will roar.   –  from Prince of Peace – by Hillsong

In moments of worry, I get to speak straight to my own heart.  Be still my heart.  I know He’s God.

We don’t have control over seasons of waiting, but we do have control over our stillness.  Stillness can be a beautiful place if we allow it.

As we approach Mother’s Day, this can be a beautifully painful place.  I never dreamed of being a mom; but now I find myself praying during the stillness that God would let me keep her –  these precious little ones He has shared with us.  My hope can barely touch the pain of those that have longed for years to be called mom.  Friend, I see you.  I cannot imagine the depths of your pain.  Please know, even as I hope that next year’s Mother’s Day is celebrated with these same little ones that currently fill my home, I pray that God fills your arms with your heart’s desire.

As we wait for dreams fulfilled and hope to come, remember the words of the Father to Be Still.  Even when it feels as though our world is falling apart, He is our safe place.  In the stillness… He is there.