Wednesday, January 5, 2011

faith things: one word.

Its taken me some time, but I've settled on one word for 2011.

quiet.

Kind of a strange word to choose, no? But after circling around words like joy, discipline, and focus...this is where I landed. And for several reasons.

I've been praying Psalm 131 for 2 1/2 years now, and it really gets to me...

My heart is not proud, LORD, 
my eyes are not haughty; 
I do not concern myself with great matters 
or things too wonderful for me. 
But I have calmed and quieted myself
   I am like a weaned child with its mother; 
   like a weaned child I am content.

 Israel, put your hope in the LORD 
   both now and forevermore.

...and quieted stands out to me. So often, my heart and mind are just plain busy. quieted and weaned are two things I always strive to be, but rarely am. 
In the same way, my life is pretty loud. I love busyness. I love going and moving and doing. The trouble is, I get caught up in the loudness of life, and forget to be quiet.
And finally and more practically, I kind of despise quietness. I always have background music, tv, or noise of some kind. But solitude and quiet are some of the greatest joys of discipline.


So 2011, may you be a year of quiet things for me.

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