PEACE, BE STILL

Woke up early this morning with a beach anxiety. I want to soak it all in and not miss anything. The feeling of hurry , you only have 4 days to be here. You have to do it all. Shop your favorite stores. Walk on the beach until your feet get the perfect sand manicure. Eat your favorite beach foods. Sit on the porch and let those waves wash out the sounds of a hurried life. Hear from the Lord.

I admit I have been frustrated at home because I can’t seem to find time for creativity. I can not get organized in my mind or at home, no matter what I do. I can not figure out how to have the uninterrupted hours I need to be still and settled long enough to hear from the Lord and then write down my thoughts and draw or paint my little scripture pictures. I do not know how to get settled and started in my creating process. So, I figured I would go to the place I hear the from the Lord the best. The beach. I could get it all done while I was there.

Yesterday , after I had unpacked all my stuff in the condo, I took my walk in Seaside. Oh, how I love Seaside. Lots of my favorite “things” are there. It is total eye candy. The cute little homes. The garden shop, Pickets, with the cute garden calls my name and it is only open a couple of days a week. I had to see it right away in case there was something there I just had to have. Cowgirl Kitchen holds yummy take back to the condo foods so I don’t have to cook the whole vacation. Modica Market has food stacked on shelves all the way to the ceiling. You have to get a ladder to reach the staples on the top shelves. My very favorite things are down low in the bakery case! No ladder necessary.

I had a delightful afternoon watching people playing in the water. It was bathtub still. This does not happen often. Usually, the people are riding the waves. Today, they were standing in the stillness . I did not go down to the water. Just watched from the balcony.

I was too wound up to “accomplish” any of the work I thought I had to do while I was here. I came loaded with crates of old journals, art supplies, notebooks full of years of past devotional writings and little art illustrations to go along with them. “My goal” for the four days I am here is to hear from the Lord some more so I can capture what He has to say to me on paper and with creations of art. Right?

I am 64 years old. I know my years on earth are not 64 more! I want to pass on my heart thoughts. How much I love the Lord. How I long to seek Him more and more each moment I am alive. To learn how to rest in His presence here until my pilgrimage to His heart is finished and I see Him face to face.

Ate a little dinner and a lot of chocolate….ice cream and chocolate covered pretzels! Tried to watch a movie I had borrowed from the library, The Scarlett Letter. Sorry, it just didn’t float my boat, so I changed the channel to my favorite wind down shows, the Food Network and HGTV. Off to dreamland before I knew it.

Woke up early the next morning…very early 5:30.

Coffee on, journal and Bible out and ready. The sun was just beginning to lighten the sky so you could see the difference between water and sand. The faint colors of orange, pink and purple clouds resting over the water were in view. The birds had begun to start their praise songs…first a solo or two, then a whole chorus.

Myself would not settle down. I got out my watercolors to capture the moment. God’s Glory rising. An hour quickly slid by and I looked out to see people walking on the beach. Hurry Katie, get out there. They might pocket the shells or treasures washed up on the shore before I could find them.

Peace rested almost immediately in my heart. It was as if the Lord was saying, “Katie, the treasures I have for you, are for you alone. No one else can steal them. They are hidden in your heart. Your job is to rest with me. Sit with me. Delight in this sunrise with me. Receive this blessing. I have so much more to show you. Just be with me and trust me to show you.

SEEK ME WITH ALL YOUR HEART…NOT YOUR ACTIONS. FIND ME IN THE STILLNESS. FIND ME IN THE EVERYDAY THINGS. IF YOUR HEART ATTITUDE IS TO FIND ME. I WILL NOT HIDE. YOU WILL SEE ME EVERYWHERE.

HE will show HIMSELF to me and when He does, I will be changed. I will see HIM and not miss HIM. HE will be recorded not only in my words and artwork, HE will flow through my countenance. I will not be frustrated, nervous or anxious. I will be at peace. Resting in the stillness. I missed my opportunity yesterday to stand in the stillness of the ocean day. I will not miss what the Lord was trying to tell me. I submit.

REST IN THE STILLNESS. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PRODUCE ANTHING. JUST BE STILL AND LISTEN. IF YOU WANT TO WRITE AND DRAW, YOU CAN. NO PRESSURE. JUST RECEIVE THIS STILL TIME WITH ME AND LOOK FOR ME AND FIND ME. I LOVE YOU WITH ALL MY HEART. LOVE ME BACK WITH ALL OF YOURS BY BEING STILL IN MY PRESENCE. JUST HANG OUT WITH ME. I WILL BRING YOU PEACE.

The pressure is off. Hooray, let the vacation begin.

P.S. These are a few of the pictures I captured on my walk yesterday. Do you think the Lord was trying to tell me something?