If it were not for some amazing women that God has placed in my life sometimes I’m not sure where I’d be.
Many of you can probably say the same thing.
Recently, I was speaking to someone older and much wiser I meet with regularly and she, hearing that times had been turbulent lately, told me that her husband used to pray for “still waters” during times when there were long stretches of difficulty that seemed to have no end. You know, when you’ve endured one thing to find yourself right in the middle of something else you hadn’t expected, and so on it goes for months, maybe years at a time. One thing after the other, wearing you down little by little with no end in sight.
Life has felt like that lately. A lot. And my heart is longing for a stretch of rest from the issues that have been at the forefront of my thoughts lately.
When she mentioned that phrase at first I didn't think too much about it. But recently it has crept back into memory and I often find Psalm 23 much in my thoughts. As such, I’ve adopted this as my breath prayer that I say when I can feel anxiety and stress of a particular situation start to weigh me down. I say something like, “Lord, lead me beside still waters.” It has become the cry of my heart. It is the very thing my soul craves now. To have a moment of respite, and to get through this difficulty and find peaceful days on the other side or even a small respite in the midst of it all.
The Lord may not take the burden, problem, pain, away, but when there are moments that fill my cup, so to speak, it makes tough situations or seasons easier to bear.
For me, still waters look like spending time with people who give me refreshment because being in their presence or having a conversation with them gives me life. These are people who I don't have to pretend anything when I am talking to them.
It's also having time alone to simply meet with the Lord and listen for His voice. Still waters might be a place I go to connect on a deeper level with the Lord, which can be around the corner in a local coffee shop or in the quiet of my bedroom.
There are so many possibilities of how this can look in my life and yours. And we may not even be aware that God is leading us to the these places until we find ourselves crying out to Him because we have almost come undone and are so weary for stillness that our hearts feel like they are going to explode.
God's creativity knows no bounds when he is speaking to us as individuals. He knows exactly what will touch our hearts deeply and can provide the still waters we need to restore us.
In many ways, I see this blog as a place where I hope you can find some still waters. Where you can find encouragement to walk closer with the Lord with other women and find some respite from the everyday news we read that makes our hearts ache for heaven.
It's my hope as you read along you will find a place of rest and connection. We'd also love to know more what fills your cup, so let us know any topics you'd like one of our writers to address and we'll see what we can do.
Thank you for being a part of this community, we are excited for this next season at IndiAanya and glad you are reading along with us!
Photo credit: Unsplash
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I loved it!!!!
Shout out to all the writers of this blog. God is using you all to speak words of encouragement into my heart. Thank you once again! Would love to read experiences of marriage and what you'll do in your roles as Christian wives.
Thanks Ruthie, great idea. Perhaps a topic of discussion in the months to come!