Gather Up the Crumbs - IX - Be Still and Know.....

"It is the stillness that will save and transform the world." ~ 

Eckhart Tolle

Psalm 46 

Be still.................................................................

¹ God is our refuge and strength,
   an ever-present help in trouble.
² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
   and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
³ though its waters roar and foam
   and the mountains quake with their surging.

 ⁴ There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
   the holy place where the Most High dwells.
⁵ God is within her, she will not fall;
   God will help her at break of day.
⁶ Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
   he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

 ⁷ The LORD Almighty is with us;
   the God of Jacob is our fortress.

 ⁸ Come and see what the LORD has done,
   the desolations he has brought on the earth.
⁹ He makes wars cease
   to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
   he burns the shields with fire.
¹⁰ He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
   I will be exalted among the nations,
   I will be exalted in the earth.”

 ¹¹ The LORD Almighty is with us;
   the God of Jacob is our fortress.

I have journaled before about Jackie Novak and The Blessing Center in Dayton, Ohio.

At a workshop with Jackie and members of The Blessing Center I made some prayer beads.  Now, as I have also journaled, I am a blue-blooded Presbyterian who had never heard of prayer beads until I reached my early to mid 40's.  My prayer beads are in my office at the church and I can't find a picture similar to them.  I secured one end and then strung large wooden beads.  Before stringing the beads, I had written Psalm 46:10.  Each bead had one to two words.  When I have difficulty getting myself still, I move the beads one at a time up and down the rope, reciting the words of 46:10.


This morning, reflecting on these verses I hear God telling me to "relax in My holy Presence."


"Let go of the cares and the worries, so that you can receive My Peace."


"Cease striving and know that I am God."


"Let go, relax, be still...."

What can I say?
I'm a sucker for kids!

I'm headed out to be with a little girl and her family before she has a minor surgery.  It is minor, but she made a point to tell me three weeks ago, "Pastor Sandi, I'm having surgery on June 2."

Then, in the same hospital I will go to be with the woman I have journaled about in several previous posts.  I learned yesterday she has gone on dialysis.  The last time I saw her...she "appeared to be" in GREAT shape. She told me, "Sandi, I saw angels up there the other day."

Knowing how upset her daughters were, I tried to make a joke, "Well, Pat, that is a lot better than the monkeys I saw after my car accident!"

She told me again, and this time I had to put her before her family, so I asked her to tell me more...

"They were sparkling, well maybe they seemed to sparkle because they were so bright! I wanted to go with them, but I also wanted to touch each of my girls one last time.  Sandi, I couldn't do both, so here I am."

http://marinapetro.blogspot.com/2009/12/
angel-light-angel-day-angel-art.html

This morning I wondered about that "I wanted to touch each of my girls one last time..."

So, for this morning, I am going to gather the crumbs of a beautiful sunrise, the birds singing, and the dew on my bare feet as I walk Sophie.

On the drive to the hospital, I may rest in the crumbs of the silence of my car, or I may fill my soul with music from KLOVE.  And....I might do both.

Many Blessings ~ Sandi