By JANET HART LEONARD
From the Hart
There’s just something about silence. Shhh …
As I was growing up, I watched my mother sit on her front porch and rock … and rock … and rock. I just didn’t understand when she said it was good for her soul.
But now I do.
It’s as though I enter a sacred space where my heart hears what it needs to hear. I hear a voice coming from my soul, reminding me that it is OK to “Be still.” Scripture even says so in Psalm 46:10.
Who is to argue with the inspirational words of God? I call it divine permission. Who am I to argue with my mother, even when she has passed? I’m still not brave enough to do it.
All too often I cannot hear the words my soul needs to hear over the noise of the everyday chatter. You need to … You cannot … It’s not on your to-do list. You don’t have time for that.
Then I hear … shhh.
When I take the time to be still …
I am reminded of my strength. That strength doesn’t come from a physical workout but that of a soul workout.
It is in the quiet where I realize I am a force to be reckoned with because of what has happened in my life, giving me no choice but to find the strength I never knew I had.
I realize the challenges that have tripped me, and I fell hard. But … I got back up to find the person I was designed to be. I’ve not been shaped and refined by fluffy words and pats on my back. I’ve been refined by words that damaged and bruised my heart.
I find I am kinder not just because people have been kind to me but because of those who extended a voice of ugliness and ridicule and belittling.
I am nicer not only because someone saved me a seat but because I was left out of the inner sanctum of a group of girlfriends.
I find myself feeling empathy and compassion for those who hurt, not just because of being surrounded by those who have walked my journey to tell me I will get through whatever crisis I am dealing with, but because someone has made their problem, my problem. Sometimes, they blamed me for their problem. I’ve finally been able to let go of that weight … whew!
The quiet allows me the space to seek my well-aged wisdom. It reminds me I cannot take ownership of the problems of others. I cannot “fix” people and I cannot carry the weight of the anger someone feels.
It is in the quiet I am reminded of all these things. It is then I can remove the weight on my shoulders that others have placed there and lay it, not in my lap but at the foot of the cross. There is only one Savior, and I am not Him.
In the quiet, I hear my soul say, “You are enough, Janet. You were designed by God, fearfully and wonderfully made. Go and rest in my promises. Your soul will thank you. Again, I say … shhh”
Be still and listen. There, in the quiet, I find … it is well with my soul.
Janet Hart Leonard can be contacted at janethartleonard@gmail.com or followed on Facebook or Instagram (@janethartleonard). Visit janethartleonard.com.