Broken Bones

"Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10 (NIV)

Have you ever looked at this verse? I mean REALLY looked at it? When was the last time you were still? Let me put that shoe on the other foot. When was the last time I was still? Um....... That might take a while to figure out.

I was reading a book last night entitled "I Became A Christian And All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt" by Vince Antonucci. The chapter was entitled "Speed." He was talking about how we, as Christians, are often full speed ahead, running at "150 mph". That's me. I wake up, strap on my figurative running shoes, and dash out the door. I return exhausted, flip open my bible, read a verse or two, and hope that somewhere, along the way, God will show me how to apply it. Then I close my Bible, turn off my light, and I'm out for the night. The details of the day change, but the speed does not. Since when do I even know how to be still? And if I can't be still and know the very basic truth that God is God, how can I really do anything for his kingdom?

Well, God found a way to slow me down. He allowed my foot to break. It's a really stupid story, not glamorous in any way. But the results...a foot that is practically useless and a set of crutches that look helpful and are, but at a high price (the pain in my shoulders has yet to go away). You would be surprised how much longer things take. Let's say your phone dies (as mine did last night). I was laying on my couch, talking to my sister, and my phone had the nerve to run out of batteries. Now at this point, I thought to myself, "You know, you could get up, hobble (or crawl) to your room, and get the charger. That would take AT LEAST 3 minutes, as well as cost you some pain along the way. OR, you could just let your phone stay dead for a while and relax." Well, I chose the second option. If I had two working feet, it might have been different, but with half the number of feet, you go half the speed and less than half the distance that you would normally go in the same amount of time. Or take the example of the spilled glass of water. I knew it needed cleaned up, but I also knew that what would normally take a minute tops, was going to take me at least five.

So, all of that to say, I have been effectively slowed down. And when I asked God why, He made it clear to me that, at least one of the reason was that I NEEDED to slow down so that He could work in and through me the way He had planned. Since I wouldn't slow down myself, I'm thankful that he is using this apparently unfortunate situation to do it for me. I just hope I remember the lesson!:-) In the last 48 hours, I have had more time with God, more genuine time with His people, and a LOT more time doing what I've known He has wanted me to be doing for quite a while, I just hadn't made it a high enough priority. It's so easy for me to run so fast, doing good things, that I forget that it's not WHAT I do, but WHO I'm doing it with that matters. Let's face it, nothing that I do is going to be significant unless God decides to make it so. So He's been showing me how to slow down so that I can follow Him rather than expecting Him to follow me. "Be still, my child, and KNOW that I am God."