The Stillness Dilemma

The concept of BE STILL is something that our children will not understand.
I consider myself blessed to have made it all the way to 6th grade before Nintendo released the GameBoy.
At that singular moment…STILL was gone.
I had to endure miles and miles of road trips from Atlanta to Los Angeles trapped with my little brother in the back seat of the Buick Regal with nothing but the open road and my imagination to keep me entertained.
Oh.
And Stillness.
Stillness.
I remember having epiphanies on those trips.
As a 7 year old I remember having a greater understanding of who I was than I do as a 37 year old.
The stillness is now gone.
And I fear it is gone for the 7 year olds as well.
To be forced to wait until Saturday morning to watch Captain Caveman forced stillness.
Now kids can grab their parents phone and watch what they want when they want on Netflix.
The stillness is now gone.
The only way to gain it back it seems, is to be forced to be still.
Be it sickness or crisis…stillness is now associated with bad.

I think this pains the heart of God.
He intended Stillness to be a gift.
Not a curse.
Because there is so much to see in stillness.
Imagine with me this.
A bottle of water filled with dirt.
Shake that thing.
You cannot see through it.
Now stop shaking it.
Set it down.
Let it be still.
Watch it clear out.
Watch the dust settle.
And in moments…
Stillness…
Has Brought…
Clarity…

I am in a season of stillness.
And in the clarity of watching the dust settle I see things that i despise.
And these things need fixing.
And guess what?
If I never would have stopped…been still…I never would have had the opportunity to see the clarity God has for me in His stillness.

So as hard as it is…
I ask each of you to stop spinning for a moment…
And see what your spinning has been hiding.
You may see something that is more beautiful than you ever dreamed.
Or you may see something you need to take a sledge hammer to.
But you won’t see it until you are still.
Be Still.
Los

BriAnne

I’m so glad to have a friend who catches me going in circles all the time.. she just stops me and tells me to be still.. and this is just about work… I’m trying to learn to do this in my own life, but finding the time and the will power to do it when my world is going 200mph is so hard.. I know I’m a mess and need to work on things.. I just have to find a chance to be still.. so not easy… and yes, Carlos, you’re right… children don’t and won’t know the meaning of be still.. still is gone from this world..
http://www.whiteflagproject.com Adam Ford

Man. Good stuff.
http://ablessedmess.tumblr.com natalie

why are your posts so good? this post will be spammed through the appropriate social media channels.
http://myblogequalslame.wordpress.com Clayton

Sometimes I need to force stillness. I head up to northern Minnesota, get out my pipe and journal, and sit. Listen. Watch. Man, I want more of that. Life’s too crazy these days. I need to simplify.
http://www.reflectionsoftheordinary.blogspot.com Karen

the settling dust is a perfect metaphor. its ironic that being still requires the stuff swirling the dust around to stop, so that you can see the things that are swirling the dust.

because we forget. we forget that things swirl.

in my mind, it’s not the dust that I’m worried about. its the eighteen dust-swirlers I had and about sixteen of them I didn’t need.
oiy vey.
kennyd

Thanks Los…this is me at the moment.

And I like the idea of the sledge hammer. But first, I do need to be still.

Thanks man.
Brady

I love this post, though I find it amazingly ironic I am re-learning this lesson of stillness by reading it on the device that is the greatest cause for my lack thereof. It’s like being reminded that lust is wrong, by a pastor… In a strip club.
http://petersonchina.blogspot.com Matt and Heather Peterson

Word. My wife and I are trying to practice this more. funny that it’s harder to be still than it is to move. Thanks for the words man. Peace. -Matt
http://www.mustardseedyear.com Jason

Been still for a year now…unwillingly, I’ll admit. He’s shaken a lot out. But I’m ready to go.
Fermin

This is Mom using Dad’s iPad. “Winter can seem bare and cold, but it’s only in the winter that we can see between the branches. It’s a time of regrouping. Spring will bring new life soon enough” Shana Harlow Woot Love, Mom

Fermin

Sorry, Babe, that quote is by Noelle Mena :-/. Love, Mom

http://noellemena.com/ Noelle Mena @Noellemena

Cracking up as this post came to me as an alert of my name and it was this Shana! Love it.

http://www.mohan37.com mo

Funny…I’m reading this post on my phone at a time that would have been still for about 28 years of my life…

I need to stop bringing my phone everywhere.
http://theestherproject.com Lex

Word.

I learned some of this last year when the Lord challenged me to honor the Sabbath for a whole year. (A WHOLE FREAKING YEAR!)

Part of the problem, at least for me, was that the business of our society devalues stillness, which devalues people who are still. The hardest part of being still, for me, even after a year of sabbaths, is fighting that nagging voice that says, “You’re a bum. You’re lazy. You’re not accomplishing anything. You’re worthless right now.”

But I guess it’s no wonder that our enemy wants to keep us from that place of revelation we find in stillness.
laura

i love this post Carlos! I am a big fan of stillness
Kim

So good. Stillness is hard for me. Learning to redefine some things in my life and this is one of them. Thanks for this perspective!
Pingback: Reads of the week – 2012 – 8 « Hope In Love
http://blogs.christianpost.com/disciple/ Disciple of Thecla

Being still and waiting for the opportune moment is a necessary virtue that most people have forgotten. Stillness leads to contemplation, patience, tranquility and an appreciation for everything around you. Yet, in this culture of fast-paced access and non-stop stimulation, who can find the time to stop and think?
http://www.kristenjoymaddux.blogspot.com Kristen

You know what’s funny? This hits close to home with me becuase, man, I am a GO GETTER–a middle of the action kinda woman. But in the last four years I’ve had a baby and three major back surgeries. I still live with pain that keeps me in bed for HOURS every day.
And it has been harder than hard….
but also, VERY GOOD.
I am still.
And I hear the heart of God more now than ever.
Steve I

Great post and insight, Los.

It makes me think if we are not still, will we know that He is God? As we have our two year old daughter and nine month old son, stillness is something my wife and I hope/plan to model for them in the home. Easier said than done for sure but worth the pursuit and discipline.
http://relentlesslyhis.blogspot.com/ CeLiNe

I’ve been reading your writings for a while now and it never fails to speak to me at so many different levels. It’s right-on and it stings a little but, sir carry on writing and musing. Tis God’s doing
Tommy

This is one of the things that is what I like best–and what I find the most difficult–about attending Quaker meetings. I attend an unplanned service, which means that there are a bunch of people sitting around in a room not saying anything for the better part of an hour. It forces stillness. (That and the really creaky bench that I sit on.)
Jen

This is ace! I have so been in a time of stillness and have been squirming to find my busy life again but this has encouraged me to live in the place God has me in right now and look around. Spent ages journalling about what I’ve been seeing in the past few weeks. Thanks!
http://phillipians3-14.com Katy

I love stillness, but it is so difficult. My husband is disabled and home all day so I can’t even get away from the television. Thanks for reminding me of what’s important. The joy of simple things
http://jennyrain.com Jenny

I have been able to still my body, but I’m so struggling to still my mind…
Nila Rae

would love to receive your thoughts on a regular bases. Do you have an email list you send out to?
If so please add my name to your list.
Thank you
Nila Rae

also something ‘about you’

Carlos Whittaker

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