"Let us be silent, that we may hear the whispers of God."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
I feel like I've been running a million miles an hour since January 1st, even though my word for the year is SIT. How about you? Have you ditched your New Years' goals and slipped back into old habits? It's okay; we have ALL year to work on them! My husband frequently reminds me to "refer back to your word," and I know this will be a year-long exercise.
I had an epiphany on all of these thoughts while sitting quietly with God. I received what I call a God Whisper; after I write out my thoughts, concerns, worries, ideas, etc., God writes back to me. During this particular quiet time, I reflected on the word commit from the book Holy Listening by Whitney R. Simpson.
Here is the whisper I heard from God:
"I am the Prince of Peace, and I thank you for calling upon me in this way today. Allow My Peace to seep into your very being. Relax today and let your mind be at ease. You have done a lot of good work this week. I am proud of your commitment. I am proud of you for not throwing in the towel when it seems like too much. This is what I mean by sitting. Yes, it feels like there is so much, and you are going a million miles an hour, but you are not running from your commitments. You're sitting with them. You're giving them room in your life - space."
Sit = Commit! That was my aha moment. I may be busy and appear to be running crazy; however, I am not running at all but doing the opposite and sitting with the gifts God has given me over the past several months. Perhaps I should have made my word for the year commit? But sit seems like a much friendly version. Maybe I have some commitment issues, lol! That's a topic for another post!
My point is...I would have missed out on the aha moment and my God Whisper if I didn't take the time to Sit with God. I know it's easier said than done, but I encourage you to find space in your busy day to Sit with God in whatever way nourishes your soul. Over the past six months, I have learned about different Spiritual Disciplines such as; Lectio Divina, Visio Divina, Breath Prayer, Guided Imagery, and Centering Prayer. These practices have made my time with God richer. There are many ways to Sit with God, but it can be easy to get stuck in a rut and give up out of boredom often because we get caught up praying "the right way," maybe through formal prayer, attending church, or merely stating our requests to God. Try something new! Maybe commit to one spiritual discipline you've never tried and see how it feels. Sit and Commit!
As you go on with your day, may you hear the Whispers of God as you Sit with Him!
If you would like to join me in a year of sitting, subscribe below. I will feature one of the following topics in my monthly posts and suggest ways to sit with them: God, Family, Myself, Community, The Present Moment, Writing, Creating, Moderation, Gratitude, Joy, and Love.
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