a calm among the chaos
dear friend,
Does life ever feel like a never-ending cycle of chaos and calamity? A cacophony of noises and sounds and bangs and booms, of ups and downs that seem to go on endlessly with a resounding thunderous CRASH?
I don’t know about you, dear friend, but what I just described is currently my life at the moment.
I am typing this blog post at 1:02 AM on Saturday, December 21. Because you know what? I just discovered this in my talk with God and I feel that it needs to be said, especially in our Americanized day-and-age of go-go-go and busy-busy-busy and not having enough time to just sit and think and b r e a t h e without distractions or entertainment or anything but the mundane that life just IS sometimes.
Sometimes, boredom is good. Sometimes, quiet is the very thing that our souls long for.
I don’t know about you, but my soul is thirsting for some much-needed quiet time with her Lord and Savior right now. In fact, despite the fact that it is 1 AM (aka way past my bedtime — but what responsible adult really has a bedtime, right?), and despite the fact that I am beyond tired because I’ve missed at least 1-2 hours of sleep every single day this week, I am still going to make time to finish up praying while doing some much-needed cleanup and organization of my room. Once that’s all said and done, I’m going to make it a priority to read through this next chapter in 1 Samuel, because gosh DANGIT if I haven’t been SO outta sorts lately from doing the exact OPPOSITE of this routine that my soul’s been craving!
My soul is longing for quiet time with her Savior, and friend, I can’t help but wonder if your soul is longing for the very same thing too. Since it is the Christmas season (at least, when I’m drafting this it is hehe), I know we can all work ourselves to our wits ends trying to get everything done absolutely flawlessly, all while stressing ourselves out in the process for something that’s been so entirely drained of its core meaning because it’s been commercialized to the point of no return — so, friend, I have to ask: have you made time in this busy season to set aside for your Lord and Savior? The lover and sustainer of your soul, the very One who died so that you can glorify Him in all things, including the calm and the chaos?
Let me challenge you this week with this: Take time these next few days to MAKE TIME. Spend time in your Word rather than in the world. Put down your phone thirty minutes before your bedtime, and instead of putting yourself to sleep by scrolling through an endless social feed, rest easy after getting cozy while reading His Word.
Jesus says in the book of Matthew,
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Friend, He is crying out to us! He is challenging us to take on HIS perfect burden, the light weight of devoting ourselves to Him in all things, over the heaviness of the burden that is the chaos of this world!
So, I have one last question for you: Which burden will you choose to bear this week? This month? This new year?
I know that in light of this truth, I will definitely be keeping up with Him instead of keeping up with the latest posts on the ‘Gram. I know that I will be making time to rest in His calm rather than trying to hold on to the chaos that this world offers us. Will you accept this challenge along with me?
(Editor’s Note: Although I wrote this back in December of last year, I still can feel it’s relevancy, so I’m posting it today, in April 2020; there’s no time like the present, right — especially in this quarantine period! Hope you enjoyed!)much love & more,
