Recently I went to Colorado for a camp board meeting. The trip was anything but “still". I arrived late Monday evening at the Colorado Springs Airport and took my first “Lyft”. A Lyft is when you put your destination into your iphone and someone arrives to drive you to your destination. So much for when mom told me not to ride with strangers!
Tuesday morning, I reported-in for the two-day board meeting. Early on Wednesday morning the weather quickly changed, and I learned through a text from the airline that a late Spring snowstorm was coming and area airports where closing. I quickly found a Wednesday evening flight and was home again. It was a distracting trip, but I was surprisingly “still".
Being still doesn’t mean to physically be still. Being still means to be still in our minds; at peace in our hearts regardless of what is going on around us. Being still means to not be worried, anxious or frantic about things that are out of our control. Those two days, things were out of my control for sure; weather, transportation, my schedule was disrupted, but throughout all of it, I knew I would be ok.
I remember a phrase I heard as a young boy: Whatcha gonna do about it?
My Grandfather Bennett used to say this when things outside of his control would arise. What I remember about the phase especially is how he said it so calmly. Pop had his share of discomfort and challenge in life, which certainly tower in comparison to “my brief discomfort” of recent travel plans. In his early twenties, Bennett served on the USS Hornet during World War II which was sunk by torpedoes during a 10-hour battle. As a young navy solider he was in the water for three days before rescue. He had health issues with brain tumors in his fifties, lost his wife (my grandmother, Helen) to Lou Gehrig disease (ALS) in her 70’s. I share this with you to remind us all that challenges happen; bad things happen. Some cause minor discomfort to our schedules and some change our lives.
I take great comfort in the calm words of my grandfather and this verse in the Psalms. “Be still and know that He is God.” When I hear those words, I take a breath and remember God is in control, even when the storms of life arise. When they do, I take a deep breath and remember that I can’t always control what happens, but I can control how I respond. Most importantly, God meets us where we are at and help us through. I pray you find comfort in stillness today.
Blessings,
Pastor Kevin