my dear friend... a letter for you, from God

 

"Come to me, all you who labor 

and are burdened, 

and I will give you rest"

my dear friend [insert your name here],

Yes, come for rest. But stay for rest, too. 

Stop all feverish haste and be calm and untroubled. 

Come unto Me, not only for petitions to be granted but for nearness to Me. 

Be sure of My Help, be conscious of My Presence, and wait until My Rest fills your soul. 

Rest knows no fear. Rest knows no want. Rest is strong, sure. The rest of soft glades and peaceful flowing rivers, of strong, immovable hills. 

Rest, and all you need to gain this rest is to come to Me. So come! [all emphasis mine]

~from God Calling, A. J. Russell

daily devotional, entry for today,

September 25

+     +     +

When I look over my recent posts here, it is obvious that for the past several months, my energy and time has gone elsewhere! I am sorry for the radio silence.

As re-charging as writing is to me -- and it is truly a graced avenue that God uses to fill and renew me! -- I have been in one of those moments in life where only silence and stillness could fill up the in-between times, those critical moments when we ponder what we are living. 

And there has been so much going on! 

Merely since my week-long silent retreat in early July, there has been so much...  Completing my cardiac rehab (woo hoo!); trips to connect with and celebrate milestones with family; a new Grand born!; pilgrimage to Guatemala for Blessed Stanley Rother's feast day; many doctor visits; a special visitor from Cuba; buying a new home (more on that later!); making time with the Grands -- you get the idea. 

I find that the older I get, the deeper I feel things and the easier it is to recognize how important, how life-altering each of our life moments really is--wether huge or quotidian, every-day life. 

Yet there is no substitute for time, for be-ing with God in stillness and silence. That is the one way, the only way, to really ingest this life as a grace and blessing from God. 

NOTE: all photos from our pilgrimage to Guatemala, and to Santiago Atitlán, where Blessed Stanley Rother was martyred. Want to know more about the first U.S. martyr? Check out my book, "The Shepherd Who Didn't Run: Blessed Stanley Rother, Martyr from Oklahoma" (OSV Books).