If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen a thousand. You know, the pictures of our friends and family members sitting beside a pool or a lake or an ocean, feet stretched toward the horizon, with some “look where I am and you’re not” caption.
I have been known to playfully tease folks when such pictures come across my screen. But I get it. I understand the desire to share these moments, to capture the feeling, to wish we could somehow live life with sandy toes forever pointing out to the grand and glorious depths.
What has always drawn me to the places we try to record with our photos is a strong sense of God’s presence.
While standing at the edge of the ocean, I find life comes into focus. I feel overwhelmed by God’s greatness. I am flooded by the power and am drawn to worship. Even if crowds are swarming and there’s nary an unclaimed spot in the sand, I feel a stillness in my soul, a rooting, a grounding, a coming home.
Have you had that experience?
The world swirling around you and yet you are able to center yourself, to be fully present in the moment. To experience the bigness of the world. To draw near God.
I think of Psalm 46…
“Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
Still may mean to cease all activity. It may mean to settle down and settle in. It may mean rest. It may mean to stop for a while. (all great Lenten practices)
But then again, it may mean simply becoming aware of God even if you’re on a crowded beach, a crowded street or living a crowded life. Be still…and know, experience, feel, love, worship.
Life is better together,
Shawn
Check out what a few of my friends taking this journey with me think of this word…
Big Rubber Band Ball 