Silence, Solitude, Sabbath Part 4

Week Four

It was Saturday the last day of the week and I had not had my weekly time alone with God. But God worked it out. In the morning I planned to go to Weight Watchers for my monthly weight-in as a lifetime member followed by eating breakfast with a friend from church. My friend from church pushed our time back. The Holy Spirit told me to meet Him at the park down the street from the breakfast location.

This fourth week of this challenge I sat in my blue portable chair by a large pond. I brought Bible, my quiet time journal, Bible Study Fellowship prayer list, and another spiritual book. In Jeremiah 13:1-11 I read about how the Lord wanted to bound the people to Him as His people like a belt but the Israelites and people of Judah wouldn’t listen to Him. Today I could not help but hear and see God in His Word and in His nature. Reading the book was out because of the chatter from God. Listening was all I could do. I could barely pray because of His interruptions.

I soaked up His warmth and Vitamin D from the sun/Son when low in the sky, which later became sun speckled shade as the sun rose behind a tree. He spoke through the silent, dark, large, and slow moving fish; then added a school of smaller dark fish. He spoke through ripples and living rings from underwater creations. He spoke through a small black and white wood pecker tapping and hoping around in his ascent up a tree searching for a tasty treat.

He spoke to me through two native bees. Our native bees are small. They landed on my prayer list slowly flipping their yellow back ends up and down. My pack, thumb and hand became a landing pad. Bees mean a possible sting. I have been stun by bees and wasps several times in the past. So to allow them to touch me like that was different. My emotions was mixed, shake them off or let them roam. They roamed for a short time then were shaken off.

He spoke through frogs moaning and bull frogs bellowing, birds chirping, or squawking, light breezes, purple flowers, spider lines on bushes and grasses, blue cloudless skies, and more.

This time I spoke with people as they walked, ran, or biked by. The first one saw me with ear plugs in her ears and spoke first as she pulled out her ear plugs and stretched out her hand. She talked about me picking the perfect spot to sit. We chatted a short bit then she was off with plugs back in her ears. Her conversation was a reminder of how God is. He is plugged in to hearing all of us at the same time, but will take a moment to touch and talk with each of us face-to-face.

Greeting the many walkers pulled at me like puppet strings to walk, but my Spirit said “no, today you sit and rest.” Sitting instead of walking was like a warm balm in my soul. My watch even told me “it’s time to stretch and be active!” The watch also said my heart rate was 58; it was well with my soul.

The breakfast date loomed before me. I was hungry, but I wanted to stay by that pond. The radio which normally blasted contemporary spiritual music was silent as I drove slowing through the park to the exit. On the way I ran into two of my regular long distance walking buddies walking without me. We talked briefly while I sat in the car. Walking with them would have been nice, but sitting with God was better. Thanks Lord for this month’s adventure with you.

_________________________________________________

Juel A. Fitzgerald has a degree in English and is a Toastmaster trained public speaker, loves to travel, and walk long distances with friends. She writes in four blogs and is the author of “Lives of a Gem! God’s Treasured Possession”, “Bible Trek: Reading the Bible in Thirteen Weeks”, and “The Twelve: Fishers of Men”.

These are her four blogs:

©2020-2022 Juel’s Creations, LLC

Published by Juel A. Fitzgerald

It is God's plan for me to encourage women to do all for God’s glory, live on His schedule, and pray Big.

Leave a Reply

%d bloggers like this: