Still in Me …

by Ray Reuter on August 30, 2018

I was given a copy of A Prayer for Stillness (by Ron Rolheiser) followed by 20 minutes to contemplate such prayer. What a gift! I was hit square between the eyes with one particular area of “stillness.”

Still my unrelenting need to be busy all the time, to occupy myself, to be always planning for tomorrow, to fill every minute with some activity, to seek distraction rather than quiet. Soothe the unacknowledged anger I feel from not achieving much of what I’ve wanted in life, the failure that I feel in the face of all that I’ve left untried and unfinished. Still in me the bitterness that comes from failure. Save me from the jealousy that comes unbidden as I begrudgingly accept the limits of my life. Give me the grace to accept what circumstance and failure have dealt me.

See … I had been feeling a lot of discontent and God said, “I hear you. I see your unrelenting need to be busy. I sense your anger in not doing all you want to do. I notice your bitterness and jealousy at your limitations. Now … let it all go and BE STILL.” He knows me; He knows you.

So clear, and yet so counter intuitive. Stillness trumps busyness?! Really?! Funny … God doesn’t say, “Get BUSY and know that I am God.” LOL! He simply says, “BE STILL.”

Here is the closing part of the prayer …

Still my heart so that I may know that you are God, that I may know that you create and sustain my every breath, that you breathe the whole universe into existence every second, that everyone, myself no less than everyone else, is your beloved, that you want our lives to flourish, that you desire our happiness, that nothing falls outside your love and care, and that everything and everybody is safe in your gentle, caring hands, in this world and the next.

Amen!

{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }

Greg Downs August 31, 2018 at 3:18 pm

Hi Ray,

Great post. Thanks.

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Fortressxzn December 11, 2020 at 8:20 am

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ancient and medieval Latin,

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By the end of the 15th century, 35

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“Julia’s Garland” (fr. Guirlande de Julie)

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Documenthej January 3, 2021 at 12:30 pm

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From many manuscripts of Antiquity

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from a printed book, reproduction

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Of his works, he is especially famous

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Flashpaqfuz February 13, 2021 at 7:40 pm

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Western Europe also formed

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Century to a kind of destruction:

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Epiphonemee September 4, 2021 at 6:27 pm

55 thousand Greek, 30 thousand Armenian

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Carpetwmv September 12, 2021 at 2:37 am

Since the era of Charlemagne

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Fingerboardxam January 27, 2022 at 9:24 am

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Generationtei March 31, 2022 at 10:12 am

Western Europe also formed

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Seriesozz October 19, 2022 at 4:52 pm

new texts were rewritten

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