3 minute read
Be Still
from July 2020
by Rhonda Lane
Iwas born a week late and I've been trying to catch up to this ever faster moving modern world ever since. It didn't help that my parents were slow. They weren't slow in intellect, far from it. They were two of the smartest, wisest people I've ever been privileged to know. They were, however, slow in their intentionality about life. They took the time to savor the joy and opportunity of learning in every situation that presented itself to them.
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Warm summer evenings spent sitting and talking on our front porch about the past, the present, and the future as the twilight slowly enveloped them was one of their favorite pastimes.
Observing nature was another avocation. My father once interrupted a busy day of chores to dissect and study the intricate architecture of an abandoned wasp nest along with my mother and myself. We took the time to absorb the wonder of God's creation in it's many layers and connecting pillars. My mother and I also spent another warm, late summer evening sitting on my grandmother's back steps watching wandering stars shoot across her pasture singing a sizzling song as part of a meteor shower. They were like fireworks from the inventor of fire Himself.
Scientific experts have recently discovered whole new lanes of God's natural bounty during this current pandemic crisis and shutdown. Seismologists have discovered never before measurable movements of the earth unmasked solely because of the newfound stillness of humanity.
Astronomers, too, have noticed celestial artwork not normally visible because there were no planes to force the stars to play hide and seek from our eyes.
When the world is up and running, we humans are always making noise with our automobile traffic, we leave the lights on in an attempt to void the night only to obscure the illumination of the stars, and we build skyscrapers to obscure the trees and the mountains we so eagerly seek to find with our cars and our airplanes.
Stop, look, and listen. Stop rushing out the door or rushing to judgment. Look at the faces of your loved ones. Listen to the songs of birds.
Stop and catch a falling star. Stop and catch your breath. Stop and catch a glimpse of God. Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still and know that I am God.”
I still live my life in the slow lane, just where I want to be. I feel as if I've finally caught up with the world or maybe it’s finally caught up with me.
About The Author Rhonda Lane is a native of Dalton, Georgia, and is an orphaned, old maid, and only child trying to find her way in the world and lose herself in Jesus Christ.
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