Be Still

Stillness of the spirit calls to me. And too often it escapes me.

My first notion of stillness came with the frustrated order of my parents to "sit still and pay attention!" Stillness meant not having fun while I froze my body into a state of obedient learning, clearly missing out on something better, somewhere.

My grandmother changed forever my understanding of stillness. Our people come from Eastern Kentucky, and my grandmother (MaMaw), like nearly all the women in the hills back then, received little education and married young. What she knew of reading she learned from the Bible. She grew into the practice of spending at least one hour each day in total quiet, with no distractions, steeped in quiet reflection of God. Each of her five granddaughters had the experience of being drawn into that same stillness. I remember at the age of 6 following MaMaw upstairs to her room to sit with her during just such a quiet time. She gently sat me on one chair while she sat across from me. She said, simply, "Now let's be still." Then came a magical kind of stillness, a silence I could almost hear. I felt her presence. My head chatter stopped, and I seemed to be floating. Somehow I knew that her stillness with God was my stillness, too.

It has been said that God is stillness, a place of perfect peace. For most of us, that concept is hard to grasp, besieged as we are by the demands of clocks, computers, traffic, errands, family events and the constant noise of living.

In my work with people, particularly in life coaching, I have come to understand the power of being still with someone, present with one in the moment, quiet, at peace. My journey with God has ultimately come back to the power of stillness I learned as a child.

Imagine how silent the world became after the crucifixion of our Lord. Imagine the sorrowful stillness as Mary Magdalene came at dawn to the tomb of Jesus. But it became not the stillness of a body in linen wrappings - it became the brilliant silence of the Resurrection of Jesus and all humankind.

Stillness can be a blessing, a prayer, and a moment to feel the promise of Resurrection and the love of God.

— Leia Francisco

Courtesy of The Church of the Good Shepherd United Methodist