Summer 1: Finding rest in the still of the morning
Summer 1: Finding rest in the still of the morning
1 January 2020
Our journey with God is not about always starting again, but realigning ourselves, perhaps on a different path, to continue that journey with him.
In the still of the morning is where I find my rest.
This year has taken myself and my family on a big journey. For the first time my family has relocated 12 hours away from what we knew as normal and comfortable. Everything changed for us – more than we were prepared for.
The excitement with moving meant I had a new level of faith and expectation for things to come, but once we got into the new normal, all those feelings slowly dwindled as things got busy.
How to find consistency in an inconsistent life?!
To get through the difficult days I did what I had always done: took time during the day to spend with God. This is what filled my soul.
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Mel Purcell says we don’t start again, we just realign with God.
Some weeks, this happened several days of the week; on other weeks, getting a single day set aside was a struggle. But this only worked for a season and slowly these times slipped away.
It took some time, some struggles and lots of crying-on-the-floor moments for me to realise what was missing. I was still praying daily and reading my Bible, but it often felt like it was routine.
Going through the motions worked for a time. It was mostly reading a Scripture passage that would encourage me or remind me of God promises. Or on some days what worked was pondering a Scripture during the day and re-reading it later that day.
God still spoke to me, just in a different way and on a different level. I was daily encouraged, but it was not a time of growth for me personally.
I got to the point where I knew I couldn’t ‘surface read’ and pray and expect to grow in my relationship with God. I had settled with the fact that the new normal wasn’t like it used to be, but I had to realign my time with God.
After six months, I realised I had to sacrifice some of my time to spend time with God. I couldn’t wrap up my relationship with God in my role.
Starting with a fresh devotion book, I began getting up an hour or so before the kids. Over the last few months, this has gone from a time that was just to read a devotion to a time I wouldn’t trade for anything and couldn’t live without. I’ve had moments where I have felt so close to God, so reassured and so connected to him. Some mornings I read my Bible, some I journal, some I worship and some I just sit still and listen.
Growing up in a Christian family with a strong faith, I have always been supported in my relationship with God. I’ve never doubted and just knew it was a journey. Over the years I have had to do exactly what I have done this year – realign myself. The biggest encouragement is that each time I feel like I have slowed/paused/put it on hold or let it slip, God is always there waiting for me to reset and continue. And when I do reset, I don’t start again. I’m not back at the beginning. I’ve just started the uphill journey that is closer to God. Sometimes I plateau, but I never go backwards.
Sometimes you have to realign, you have to change what you do and how you spend your time. Life situations and circumstances are ever-changing, but God is not. He is always there for us, we just have to find/make the time and it’s okay if it looked different to yesterday. Just do what works for you.
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