“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him.” Psalm 37:7
Dear People of St. David’s,
I pray that you and yours are well and hope that you are taking some time with God on these magnificent fall days. I can’t get over the colors of the leaves this year! This warmer weather feels like an invitation for all of us to walk with God a little in God’s “garden.”
I’ve been thinking a lot about the gift and power of spending time with God, these past few weeks. I’ve made a slight change in terms of how much time I’m spending with God, though certainly not as much time as I could be. I’m noticing a difference in how I’m feeling and what’s been going on around me: more peace, more guidance, a deeper sense that I am loved and so are you, and gracious coincidences that I’ve been missing. Apparently, I’ve been a little too busy for God over the previous weeks and months.
The time I’m spending with God now, is changing my heart in some profound ways. The change in my schedule came about because I ran into a long-time friend at Wawa one morning. We went to college together, socialized, and worked together for more than a decade. For good or ill, time, circumstances, and life choices moved us apart. As we talked in line, we were able to catch up on families, kids, and work; then there was silence. We’d been apart from one another for so long that we couldn’t seem to talk about the more important things in life. I waited for him outside and asked if he had a few minutes to talk some more. He agreed and we spent the next thirty minutes together talking, listening, and being quiet in one another’s presence. Part of our friendship had been recaptured and I think we both felt renewed by our time together. I hope there’s more to come.
As I drove away, I realized that some of my prayer life and time with God had been reduced to the social niceties of catching up, but nothing too deep. I began waiting on God with more intent, talking with God about my life and my heart. Deciding to be quiet, I listened for God’s urgings; those nudges to our hearts and brains that aren’t our own consciousness at work. I practiced being still and waiting on God, not on my own timeframe, but God’s.
One of the greatest promises of the Christian life is that God is personally interested in your life and in mine. God loves us and is willing to be present in our lives, guiding, encouraging, correcting, and giving us that peace that passes understanding. One of the great challenges of the Christian life is that you and I must take time, or we’ll miss it.
Let me invite you to wait on the Lord. The presence of God that is always with us will be made known, and you will enter into a more lovely life than you will ever live on your own.
Grace and Peace,
The Rev. W. Frank Allen
Rector