As I am writing this devotion, I am secluded away at my brother’s cabin for a short respite of solitude. For those of you who don’t know me, I am by nature, an introvert. Subsequently, the past months of continued contact with my dearly beloved family, (Yes, they are loved!) has made me seek a few days of uninterrupted time. I am thankful for this little respite, time of quiet, time of prayer, time of study and work; because, for those who don’t know me, I am also a “doer.” I thrive on getting things done, tasks accomplished, one thing to mark off on my list of things to do!

So I have been sitting here trying to turn off all of the “tweets” and “chatter” of our online connected world, to ignore the list of “to-do’s” and actually hear the world around me. There is a strong wind blowing and the branches are crashing into the forest. A tree went down somewhere near me… will have to investigate later on a walk. A loon just called out from a lake nearby, a melody that brings me back to the Northwoods of Minnesota – oh, how I love the call of the loon!

I feel a bit selfish, actually. I have three teenagers at home, a husband, and let’s not forget the dog who needs to be walked, fed and loved. And here I sit, with nothing but the sound of the wind and a loon to keep me company for the next two days.

But I have good company. Jesus was known to spend time in prayer – away from the crowds. Over and over again, Jesus sought out the earth, the wind, and the world of nature to find time to be with God and to find time to pray.

I don’t know about you, but the current online work environment can be exhausting. There is always one more zoom meeting, one more email, one more thing. And then there is the current news environment. There are no “slow news” days and no time to recover from one event to the next.

And so my prayer for you this day is this,

“Find time to hear the wind.
Find time to hear the loon.
Find time to hear the actual tweets and chatter
of the living world around us –
on this day, in the place you are at…
find the time.”

It may be a 5-minute time of peace out on the lawn with eyes closed after the kids are put to bed. It may be a 10-minutes of sitting on the couch with no tv, no phone, no computer, just you and your prayers. It may be a 30-minute walk with no headphones on. A time of listening. A time of seeing. It may be a 60-minute swim out in the lake to refresh a weary soul.

My prayer for you this day is to recognize that we can’t keep “doing” without stillness. We can’t keep “doing” without prayer. We can’t keep “doing”… we can’t. Take time…

– Pastor Lauren J. Wrightsman

Prayer

Gracious God, I am tired. My mind is frazzled, my hands are full and my mind won’t stop telling me all of the things I need to do. Show me how to rest. Remind me of your presence. Remind me of the breath of the Holy Spirit that comes not only to stir us to action, but to give us peace as well. Calm my thoughts on this day. Settle my anxious mind so I may hear you in the whispers of the wind. Help me breathe this day. Amen