breathe

 “I do not concern myself with matters too great or awesome for me. But I have stilled and quieted myself, just as a small child is quiet with its mother. Yes, like a small child is my soul within me.” Psalm 131:1b-2

My child,

At times, the concerns of this life hound you. Some are great and some small. Some need your solutions. Many do not. But, no matter whether you participate with me in the solution or not, I want you to lean on me in the moment.

Sometimes you need to set aside your adept planning and problem-solving mechanisms. I gave you those capabilities, but I don’t always want you to use them.

You have worn yourself out working on the 50 variables. Stay away from strategies that encourage you to run in circles trying to anticipate and resolve all that is up ahead. Don’t let the ceaseless appetite of the what-if’s consume you.

I can still your mind. Don’t resort to escaping or obsessing. I have the peace you need to thrive, even in the absence of a clear view of the horizon.

Enjoy my serenity today.

I love you,

Abba

My Abba,

When I don’t rest in you, I can get into a feverish flurry. Sometimes the wheels of my mind whirl frantically. I can feel myself beginning to spin clumsily with the chaos.

I seem to do that more when a big “unknown” is looming. I may try to simulate a little control by organizing or straightening something in my life - like a child trying to line up some favorite toys as a tornado looms on the horizon. Pointless - but it numbs me for a while.

I don’t want to exercise my ability to order my life in an attempt to control the uncontrollable. No matter how I try to line things up, it does not give me the “peace that passes all comprehension.” Only you give me that gift.

I know you are a God of order, and order is good. But sometimes I cling to order in a fruitless way, trying to use it for anesthesia. That just makes me feel like a worn-out rag doll. My attempt to exercise control leaves me spinning out of control, because you are the only one who can truly ground me.

When I focus on you, I then have the discernment to choose the next right step, and then the next. I feel so much lighter and freer. I still have all the same demands. But I can choose which ones to entertain.

I want to utilize your supernatural filter to sift through the incessant pressures of my “modern” life. You are never overwhelmed or hurried. And you, my perfect Peace, live in me.

When I am more fully surrendered to you, I am able to experience your peace and divine rhythm, even, when the merry-go-round is in high gear. Please lavish your peace on me today and highlight the priorities that are most important to you.

Quiet my soul. In your stillness, show me how to breathe.

I love you,

Mollie

photo: a.fernandez