My Week of Being Still...ish

I didn't expect to master being still before the Lord in one week; this will be a discipline I'll need to work on daily. There was one night that stood out to me last week among all the others. I was trying to get to sleep and thinking about all the wedding stuff that needed to be done. This list often seems endless but before I completely spiraled out in full blown panic I tried to be still. I tried to think outside of myself, this is one event, not to say it isn't important, because it is. However, there are other events and bigger problems. I tried to think of all the interactions of all 6 billion people in this world. Then I thought about how God knows each and every one of us intimately and was just blown away.

Now, I majored in psychology in undergrad because I wanted to know why. We try not to ask why in counseling because it can sometimes feel as if we're blaming the person so we ask how and what. For some reason I don't often find myself asking these questions of God, which is a major blessing. Of course I have my moments of unbelief and I pray through those. I read about the sun not setting on Jericho and God opening the sky to speak at Jesus' baptism and I have such a hard time picturing it but I rest assured that it happened. I love trying to picture these events and stretching my imagination. I try to picture the creatures who appeared to Ezekiel and I find it so difficult! Our Lord is amazing and beyond our imagination. I'm going to spend my life trying to learn more and will still not fully understand Him.

This week for Lent I'm going to focus on again being still but also James 1:19 "My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry." I find myself often focusing on what I am going to say instead of what another person is telling me. I think this leads to poor understanding and miscommunication. I can't answer well if I haven't listened well. Listening is going to be an important skill both in my personal life and professional life as a counselor. So I plan to work on slowing down this week and really paying attention to what other's are saying before I plan my response.