Quiet Waters

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his names sake. Psalm 23: 1-3

My soul was truly restored as I sat by our pond this morning, mesmerized by the thousands of diamonds sparkling on the surface of the water, basking in the beauty of nature. In a world filled with stress, I'm so thankful for the Shepherd who leads me to places of refreshment, away from the chaos of everyday life.

How I wish I would have learned the importance of being still long ago! I'm slowly learning to make time for rest and renewal in a world that seems to be in constant motion. As I look back on the past, I recall years passing by where I barely noticed the changing of the seasons; years of being so busy that I rarely stopped to look at the beauty surrounding me. I just kept going, rushing from one thing to the next, always doing something, never taking time to be still. Like many women, I had fallen prey to the "superwoman syndrome." Deceived by the world's standards of success, I listened to the lies, believed I could do it all, and believed that success meant adding one more thing to an already full plate of activities.

God's way is always the opposite of the world's way. He never intended for us to be superwomen, just women who walk by faith and in obedience to His word; women who trust in Him. In 1 Peter 3: 3-4 we learn that a woman with a gentle and quiet spirit is of great worth in God's sight, and that women in the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful by the gentle and quiet spirits they possessed. It's nearly impossible to have this inner beauty when we are stressed out and always rushing about. In order to cultivate gentle and quiet spirits, we must learn to be still before God.

I often wonder how many diseases and psychological disorders today are the result of unrelenting stress. It seems the "superwoman syndrome" only creates sickness, and leaves us feeling empty, exhausted, and irritable, suffocating any glimmer of quietness and gentleness within us. It renders us ineffective and weary, with no energy left over to do the things God has placed us here on this earth to do. We are a generation of women who have forgotten how to be still.

Only when we still ourselves from the busyness of life will we be able to cultivate gentle and quiet spirits. Our Shepherd is waiting to restore our souls and give us rest. We simply need to call upon Him. True rest will not be found elsewhere; it is found only in the One who leads us beside the quiet waters.