I’m not good at just sitting. I love working hard and keeping busy, so it’s hard for me to just sit and do nothing. (As you can imagine, I am a joy to travel with. Cooped up in a car, seatbelt on, can’t cook, can’t exercise, can’t do anything but make long to-do lists for tasks that can’t be done anytime soon. It’s pretty.)
But lately, I have been learning that sitting doesn’t necessarily mean that I am doing nothing. I’ve been choosing to sit each morning (if possible) before I hit the day head on and take time to reflect and find refreshment in God’s word, simply by sitting still in His presence. If this doesn’t work in the mornings, I try to find time in the afternoon.
With our official school schedule on pause for the summer, I have realized that the “extra” time this affords me must be spent in this way. And come August, when school and soccer season come back in full force, somehow I’ve got to continue finding time for this. My health and heart need this.
I am beginning to understand what Martin Luther said hundreds of years ago: “I have so much to do that if I didn’t spend at least three hours a day in prayer I would never get it all done.” I’ve never understood what he meant. But now I can say: Yes, yes, yes!
Three hours, you ask? Well, I can’t say that I’m sitting that long each day. :) But taking time to stop, sit, be still, breathe, and listen to God absolutely does not take away from my work time or limit me in what I can accomplish the remainder of the day. On the contrary, it empowers me, energizes me, and allows me to more peacefully serve my family and others throughout the day. And in fact, I am finding that being more in tune with what God wants, the more I am able to wisely pick and choose how He’d like me to spend my time. God writes a much better “to-do” list for me than I can ever write for myself.
Having difficulty finding time to “get it all done” each day? Take time to sit with the Father. Ask Him how you should be spending your time. Listen for His answers. Breathe. Reflect. Pray. That’s the only way to tackle your to-do list. I am so grateful to be learning this.
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Beautifully written. I totally agree and really needed to read that today. Thanks!
oh my I totally agree. I am currently re-evaluating my day and the things I am missing…. they are the important ones…. but we are so driven to be perfect and productive all the time. It’s a struggle to give up to our Lord.
Yes!! This was a wonderful post!! Thanks for hosting!!
So true! Thank you for that gentle reminder! He is our every Breath!
Laura, we have been studying in our small group the Celebration of Disciplines. Solitude is one of the disciplines. Time with the LORD. Beautifully written, thank you. I am thankful for being a midwife. Sunday morning my team and I SANG a precious baby into the world. I have never experienced anything like it. I wrote about it on my blog.
Blessings to you
Amen. I am amazed how much better my day goes, how easy it is to check things off the to do list if I first take time for Him!
Laura, thank you so much for this post. I really needed it today. This will be worked into my morning for sure. Such a good reminder.
Luther is amazing ;)
I love this. God has been convicting me BIG time on this lately. We had a sermon on something similar this past Sunday. I haven’t figured out how to go about doing it yet but obviously God is telling me to just sit and be with Him…thank you for sharing!
Thank your Laura for such a good post – I say Amen! All so true, my day always goes better when I start it with Him. Without that beginning something just seems “off” the whole day. Just occurred to me it is like a firstfruits giving of our time, similar to the tithe and how He multiplies the rest. He is such a wonderful Father!
Right before I sat down to read this I had a list of everything that needs to get done today going through my head. I really enjoyed this post and needed it today. Thanks for sharing!
Yep. Psalm 46:10 is my scripture….”Be still and know that I am God”.
I’m very good at crowding out my quiet (sit down in the Word and listening to the Lord) time.
…and you have now joined the long list of God’s reminders for me. :0)
Going to go sit now.
I needed this today. Thank you.
Yes! Have you ever noticed that when we spend time taking care of our health – spiritually, mentally, physically – that it truly is an investment into ourselves? The time and effort put into nurturing ourselves pays back big dividends in energy, focus, peace, and balance.
Wow! Just the reminder I needed to hear today!
I’m joining gratituesday for the first time, but have plans to join it more in the future. So grateful for His gifts and the love He surrounds us with!
I have recently come to a similar conclusion. My days felt so packed that I often didn’t find time to just…exist… at any point in the day. I’ve been working through the book “Simple Living” by Lorilee at the blog loving simple living, and one of her challenges was really life-altering for me. She suggests sitting and doing nothing for 10 minutes a day. It’s hard sometimes, but I’ve found that I’m so much more productive on the days I make time for “nothing.” It’s like God knew we needed rest when he designed the sabbath, huh? I also recently started reading “The Joy of Discipline” by Richard Foster. The first discipline is meditation, which is totally foreign to me even though I’ve been a Christian since I was a young child. I haven’t made it past this chapter yet because it’s so challenging for me, but I try to spend my 10 minutes each day meditating on what God has for me in this season of life.
Sorry to write a book! I guess I’m passionate about this topic right now!