Dwell

The following is a piece I wrote for our November church newsletter… although not all of us identify with believing in God, I think it’s safe to say that all of us find ourselves craving times of pure stillness and rest. Perhaps it is important, especially in the upcoming busy holiday season, to find moments to just… be.

DWELL

Be still and know that I am God.

I struggle with this. Not the knowing God part. The part about being still.

Be Still and Know.

Be. Still.

Be.

Our girls’ Small Group has recently embarked on a Bible Study entitled “Dwell: Resting in the Shadow of the Almighty”. It focuses on the idea of dwelling; resting in God. We are now coming up on our fourth week together and already the conversation has been a beautiful medly of recognizing the busy nature of our bodies and minds, but also the deep desire we have to seek out those places of rest.

In talking about the definition and nature of the word dwell, the girls quickly came to the understanding that the word in itself can have either a positive or negative connotation. We have the potential to dwell on things that are destructive, but also the capability to dwell on things that bring joy and peace. No matter which instance, we came to the conclusion that the act of dwelling can also be described as the act of remaining in a particular place. Resting, spending time, and staying.

Can you think of a person or place that brings you the most joy? That when you are in that place or with that person, you feel at peace? Safe, comfortable, fulfilled. Who is that person or where is that place for you?

My place is the Chesapeake Bay in North East, MD. I did a lot of growing up there. It is the place that I went on some of my most harrowing adventures (it doesn’t get much more exciting than following clues to a buried treasure in the sand, building forts out of logs and driftwood, and practicing lines and cues for the annual kid-run Thanksgiving Play). It is the place that I developed some of my most meaningful relationships (it goes without saying that your cousins turn into some of your closest friends when you spend your childhood camping out in the basement together). It is also the place where I found God in the beauty of creation (someday, you’ll have to watch the sun set over the water while standing next to the Turkey Point Lighthouse on the cliff of the North East peninsula… it truly is something).

The bay has always been my refuge, my safe haven, and where I most routinely encounter God. Imgaine my delight when I got to get married there two years ago, that our fall youth retreats happen at the local retreat center, and when, for the very first time, we took our Confirmation class to spend their weekend retreat at the very house I grew up in.

Everyone has a place like “the bay”. For some, it’s a person. A haven to dwell in… a place where you experience such peace and serenity and joy, you wonder: Do I have to go back to real life? Can’t I just stay in this moment forever?  I think that it is in those places that our souls are experiencing the love and presence of God. God created us because of His desire to be with us, to dwell with us.

In our small group, we talked about how those moments feel fleeting. They feel so separate from the busy world we live in, so set apart from what our daily grind feels like. It can seem that reality has no space for extended moments of dwelling in the presence of God. But consider this… perhaps those moments of dwelling are the truest glimpses of the reality that God created for us in the first place? In the beginning, Adam and Eve dwelled in the presence of God, just as God had designed it to be. Only after our world became broken do we now experience this sense of dwelling in fragmented pieces.

While this seems like a sad thought, we should be quick to recognize what this means. Those times of purest joy and peace, those places that we experience the presence of God are not only memories of what God originally created this world to be, but also glimpses at what He will someday restore fully. We live with the hope that God will make all things new again and someday His people will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. The moments when we experience bits of that here and now are rays of hope as to what will someday be. So seek them out. Find those times to be with the Lord. Practice the discipline of dwelling. Resting, remaining, and spending time with the one who created you.

Be still and know that I am God.

Be Still and Know.

Be. Still.

Be.

PS. Today is the day we announce the winner of the Giani Granite Counter Top Kit! Check here to see if you’ve won!