Strength is found not in busyness and noise but in quietness. For a lake to reflect the heavens on its surface, it must be calm. From Streams in the Desert by L.B. Cowman
I am sitting on a plane 34,000 feet above the earth moving at a speed of more than 500 miles an hour and thinking my whole life seems to be traveling just as rapidly most of the time. I have just enjoyed our annual “Camp MaeMae” with my Denver granddaughters. Their dad delivered them to me on a Friday, and after a week in Mississippi, I returned them to Denver and spent a few days enjoying the almost fall weather. I now head home where my mailbox is overflowing and my desk is piled high with “urgent” duties.
Like many of you, I am saying goodbye to summer and hello to the back-to-school mode!
The quiet life Charles and I cherish has been not so quiet these past ten days with two little girls who never stop talking and asking questions. From “MaeMae, will you play with us?” to “MaeMae, will you tell us a story about when our dad was little?” It has been anything but quiet. Even so, it has been strangely refreshing to step away from my deadline driven magazine frenzy to something a little different for a brief time.
I have also been reminded of the pace of the typical “stay-at-home” mom—who should never be described as a “mom who doesn’t work.” While Allie and Charlotte were there my washer and dryer did not stop as it seemed the wet towels multiplied like loaves and fishes! The dishwasher was loaded and unloaded like an assembly line that ran 24 hours a day. The meal planning and preparation, the housekeeping chores along with trips to the swimming pool and other fun outings brought to mind that word, “intentional.” I suddenly had renewed compassion for all who are in the midst of parenting these days. It is all too easy to let the busyness of the necessary totally eclipse the significant and eternal goals like nurturing and building the character we long to see in our children.
It really has to be one of Satan’s most cunning and successful strategies to keep our minds focused on the tasks like keeping up with the laundry, the dust, the dishes, and the schedule of extracurricular activities. So much to do and so little time! It’s always hard to keep our hearts engaged in the eternal realm of what matters most, but never more so than when the school bell rings!
There was a reason God’s word tells us to “Be still and know,” (Psalm 46:10). The quiet and reflective moments during the Sunday morning worship service, a walk around the block before the world is awake, an intentional step away from the sensory overload that is our modern world—those are the times when our hearts are lifted, our souls are restored by our Creator God, and we remember that this life is not all there is.
You will find Peggie Gillom-Granderson’s story precious and real. It is inspiring on so many levels. I struggled with telling the part about her “born-again virginity,” but decided that has to be the part that most affirms how very able is our God to restore and redeem.
Do not miss “Insurance for Israel” that my friends Steve Vassallo and Henry Paris wrote. Our world is in peril, and it is disheartening and depressing to watch the mounting persecution of Christians and our Jewish brethren all over the world. Join them in a call to commit to a corporate prayer vigil every Monday at noon—at your desk, in your home, wherever you happen to be—alone or with others. We serve a God who is omnipresent and who hears the prayers of His people. Of that, I am certain. “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land,” (2 Chronicles 7:14). Let’s do it.
Enjoy this issue. We enjoyed so much putting it together for you.
My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. (Psalm 62:1)
