Stillness

It was a beautiful night, with stars in the sky and a light breeze bringing in the early evening. I gently strolled back to my cabin and just enjoyed the night that God had given me. As I was walking I decided to just stop and listen to what was going on around me. There was a sharp contrast between the time that I was walking and the time that I just sat and was still. I let my breathing become a bit controlled and I just relaxed. The birds became easy to hear and I could hear the rustling of the leaves as the wind blew through them. The more quiet I was the more I could hear around me. Over near some other cabins I could hear the laughter and enjoyment coming from campers. In the distance I could hear some cars moving along on the road nearby. The only thing that I could not hear was myself. By being still I was focused completely on the outside and not on myself.

Psalm 46:10 says Be still and know that I am God. Having been still many times before I had never noticed how much focus is drawn to everything else and not myself during those periods. I think that when Gods says "Be still", He is telling us that it is the best way to focus on Him and not ourselves. At summer camp, it is very difficult to have a moment where we can simply be still. We are constantly moving and constantly doing some fun and crazy activity. While awesome and often times pointing to God, it is still a struggle to remain focused on God and others and not ourselves. Its amazing at how easily spending just five minutes being still can completely change a person's focus for an entire day. God gave us the gift of stillness so that we could move past being focused on our desires and ambitions and allowing us to focus on Him and His Love for us.