Don't Write About It...

"Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds." Psalm 36:5

This is a funny subject to write about because its all about "not writing about it."

Last night, my husband had just left to go play basketball and I was finishing up the dishes and getting ready for a couple hours to sit and read my book. As I'm finishing the dishes, my phone rings and its Josh telling me to go look outside.  Anyone who knows me well, knows about my obsession with pink clouds. I see them as a love letter from God to me. It's God using his creation to wow me, to remind me that I am His and He loves me and He has it all under control.  I walked out to the back porch and this is what i saw....

It was incredible. This picture doesn't even do justice to the beauty that was out there. And that's what frustrated me... I spent a good ten minutes out there trying to get a picture of it that captured the beauty. I realized that I spend a lot of time attempting to put into words or pictures the way I'm feeling or what I'm experiencing. It helps my brain wrap around things. I love personality tests because it helps me explain why I am the way I am. It explains strange quirks or why I react to certain things or why I need more alone time than the average person to not be exhausted all the time. 

As I stood on our deck attempting to get pictures, the sunset had started to fade and somehow it hit me that I had not even taken a moment to just look at it. I hadn't spent any time soaking in the beauty of the sunset and thanking God for the reminder. I had spent so much time trying to take a picture that I forgot why I love pink clouds.   It just reminds me that I take way too long attempting to explain things and documenting them to remember and not enough time just experiencing the beauty of whatever the situation is.  Whether its a conversation with friends, or a moment of quiet, or a peaceful morning with a cup of coffee, or reading a great passage of scripture, I am always trying to write it down to remember. I need to spend more time experiencing the gifts that God gives me. More and more, I am realizing the value of a moment of quiet or a peaceful morning and just being in that moment. 

After I had this realization, I sat down and just stared at the sunset and soaked in the gift that God had given me that evening. When I finally sat down and listened, I found God reminding me of his steadfast love. I was reminded that He is constantly in control of my circumstances. When I feel overwhelmed, as I have a lot as of late, He WILL sustain me. He will satisfy me. 

It's not a bad thing to want to document cool God moments. God is constantly reminding us in the bible to remember what he has done. The Israelites built monuments to  remember the times God was faithful to them. I love being able to look back and see how God's hand is ALWAYS at work. He is ALWAYS good. However, I don't want to get so caught up in documenting or attempting to explain what I can never fully explain anyway, that I miss experiencing my savior at work. I will never be able to fully comprehend the almighty God. Occasionally, I need to stop trying and just sit and soak him in. 

This is my reminder to take time to just be quiet. Be still before the Lord and listen. When I finally quiet my brain, he speaks.

"But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation." Psalm 13:5

 I don't need to have fancy words to say to the Lord. I can just say "Hallelujah" and praise him. I've been loving this song a lot lately. I'll just leave it here for you to have a listen...