be still...

For most of the week this week, we were cooped up here in the good 'ole ATL due to the snow and ice storm. I enjoyed the time at home, yet slowly but surely, was going stir crazy. I didn't go beyond the confines of our neighborhood from Sunday until today, when I went back to work. I've never stayed at home for that long without going anywhere, I don't think. But I was ready to get out. I was ready to go to work. This week was kind of like the vacation that I didn't ask for.

And so, I had a little time to think.

I got an e-mail from a friend at work earlier in the week. "Sometimes it is good to just sit still, Kel." And how right she is. I needed to hear that--I needed to grasp the value of "being still" (psalm 46:10). This was my lesson this week.

Go, Go, Go. That's how things usually are for our family. We're on the go during the week, especially now that I've started my new schedule and I'm working evenings at the hospital while Dave is working days. We're on the go on holidays, because we're traveling back and forth from LaGrange to Atlanta. Dave refers to me as the hummingbird sometimes, because at night, I buzz around trying to straighten everything up...sometimes he tries to impose a cut-off time when I have to sit down on the couch!

I always feel like I have to entertain the kids. What can we do next? Where can we go next? Are they bored? But it's okay to just be still with them too. It's okay to just hang out, cuddle, and not do too much. It's okay to just take a walk and not have to say much. It's okay.

This week, I had a chance to cuddle a little more with my baby boy. I had a chance to sit with my husband in the evenings. I had a chance to take long walks with my Nat Nat in the beautiful snow. I had a chance to be thankful for my warm, safe house; for my healthy children; for my paycheck and my health insurance, my car and my nice, warm boots. I had a chance to be thankful for this life I live...

Watching the tragedy that unfolded in Arizona on Saturday completely broke my heart. It takes my breath away to realize how quickly life can be over. And then I run into blogs like this one. It brings me to my knees, and as I offer up a prayer for that sweet little life, my heart breathes gratitude to God for my many blessings.

My sweet Bigma is in the hospital tonight and so I pray for her. For peace and hope and healing for her.

Tonight, I must remember that it is good to be still, to just BE STILL. To quiet my heart. To listen and take in. To offer praise to the One who gives so much. To offer gratefulness to the One who makes this life worth living. Be still, Kel, enjoy being still.

Psalm 32: 6-8

⁶ Therefore let all the faithful pray to you
while you may be found;
surely the rising of the mighty waters
will not reach them.
⁷ You are my hiding place;
you will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance.

⁸ I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.