As I sip my coffee and watch the morning mist rise, I realize that although I have been back to the quietness of WaterBrooks for almost a week,

…the stillness has not seeped into my soul.

I am surrounded by beauty and holy quietness, but my focus this week has been on frenetically cleaning, unpacking and catching up on office work, all while internally fretting about the future.

The “How, What and When” chorus chimes over and over until it controls not only my conscious but also my unconscious mind.

Do you know what I’m talking about? The “how am I going to get everything done?” Or “What if Rodney starts to go downhill?” And “Lord, when are you going to provide what is needed?” And a million more as it sings slightly out of tune, “This is the song that never ends… It goes on and on, my friend!” The child’s fun ditty becomes the grown-up’s nightmare

…and the stillness cannot seep into my soul.

The word “intentional” captures my imagination. At face value it means to do something deliberately and on purpose. And we should be People of Purpose.

We need to be intentional in our friendships and relationships.

We need to be intentional in our choice of words, letting our lips always be offering peace, truth, encouragement and blessing.

We need to be intentional in our times of worship, whether with others or simply alone with God.

The word “intentional” springs from the phrase, “The intention of the heart.”

A quick Google search and AI gives me this definition, ” The phrase “intent of the heart” refers to the underlying desires, motivations, and aims that drive a person’s thoughts and actions, essentially the core of their being according to spiritual and philosophical sources. It’s about what truly motivates a person, not just their outward behavior.”

Whoa!

I’m sitting silently on the porch listening to the birds sing, sipping my hot coffee, and intentionally being still,

…but that spiritual stillness just will not seep into my soul.

Although outwardly I may appear calm surrounded by quiet beauty, there is an inner restlessness, that, just as AI defines, is driving my thoughts and actions.

But I keep thinking of that fifteen hundred year old prayer of St. Augustine, “we are made for You and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You.”

More than a thousand years before that, these words from Isaiah 30 were written,

“Only in returning to Me and resting in Me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength.

But you would have none of it.

You said, ‘No, we will get our help from Egypt. THEY will give us swift horses for riding into battle.’

But the only swiftness you are going to see is the swiftness of your enemies chasing you!

You will be left like a lonely flagpole on a hill
or a tattered banner on a distant mountaintop.

So the LORD must wait
for you to come to Him
so He can show you His love and compassion.”

Lord, keep me from being someone who is chased by my thoughts and then who tries to manage everything myself. I definitely don’t want to be a tattered flag on a lonely mountaintop!

…I crave more than stillness slowly and passively seeping into my soul,

So I intentionally
come to You
where my soul can actually SOAK in the Warmth of Your Presence!