“Be still and know that I am God” Psalm 46:10

On Good Friday, we sang a short song called “Be Still and Know”. This song has a profound meaning for me as it is one of the songs that is built in to the curriculum model we use for our Wonder Space for the children on Sunday mornings. The words are:

“Be still and know that I am God, Be still and know that I am God, Be still and know that I am God” and the second verse, “Be still and know that God is here, Be still and know that Jesus is Lord. Be still and know God’s Word is here.”

During Lent, we took special time to contemplate a little more deeply on the journey to Easter and then Easter arrives with all it’s excitement and then our own lives start to get busy and distracted and to just BE with God is not on our priority list. To Be Still with God doesn’t seem to produce immediate results or return so why bother?

The week after Easter, I spent a whole week “being still and silent” with God. As part of my Continuing Education and refreshment and rest as your pastor, I spent a week at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, GA, taking a retreat week on Centering Prayer as part of my coursework toward certification in Spiritual Formation. The monastery was begun in 1944 by a group of Trappist monks of the Cistertian order. They live, work, and pray together, fostering an awareness and companionship of Christ’s presence in all they do. A full 12 hours + a day is spent in silence. And I entered into that environment after a full Holy Week and trips through bustling airports.

I was in community with 20 retreat participants who ate together but in silence, who prayed individually, but in the same room, in silence for 3 hours a day/in six thirty-minute intervals. I spent more time in silence walking in nature and being present with God there, one of my favorite things to do. We had a little bit of learning time, and at 8 PM at night, the whole monastery went into Great Silence until 8 AM – the internet shut down, cell phone coverage was minimal at best, and everyone spent time quietly with God and in rest. There were times each day we could join the monks in worship – 4 AM, 7 AM, 5:20 AM, or 7:30 PM.

It was difficult to adjust a bit and let go of all the junk we pile into our lives. The silent prayer was hard to let the thoughts racing around in my head just slip away. Silent prayer didn’t mean I talked to God in silent, it meant my thoughts were silent also, and I just sat in God’s presence intentionally NOT THINKING! Wow, it was not easy. And what about our nature to always get results from everything we do? Well that was not the purpose. The results of quiet time, just basking in God’s presence, isn’t necessarily accomplished at that moment but may be realized later, down the road, when the peace of that time with God is needed in some life situation or even our ordinary day.

My prayer for you is that you will find time to just BE in God’s presence in the coming days, weeks, and months. No agenda, no thoughts, no expectations, no judgement, and no pressures. That you will find peace and renewal in worship together and that God will show you God’s love abundantly as we continue to revel in the wonder of the risen Christ.

Blessings, Pastor Carolyn

May 2025