Abiding in well being...

by Elizabeth Stewart

(Scripture quote above based on Psalm 25:13, "His soul shall abide in well being...")

The truth is, it was a lot easier for my soul to abide in well being when we were on vacation in Hawaii, then it is in my day to day real life. Why is that? I came home from our vacation asking God how I can live with my soul, my mind, will and emotions, in a state of well being and peace. He helped me to see that there really wasn't anything that I did on vacation that I couldn't do at home. I just needed a change of mindset.

Make morning devotions less list focused and more resting in God's presence focused-
On vacation, I began the day out on the lanai of our condo, a cup of coffee in hand, and worship music playing softly on my phone. I didn't push myself to accomplish anything in my morning devotional time. I didn't worry about how much of the Bible I did or didn't read. I didn't push myself to pray through my usual prayer list. I simply sat and soaked in God's presence, inviting His Holy Spirit into all of the deep weary and hurting places within. With God's help, I can let my morning devotional time at home be more Spirit led and less me driven.

I soaked in the beauty of God's creation-
In my morning quiet time, I found myself noticing the beauty of the sunrise, the wind blowing in the trees, the sound of the birds. The beauty of God's creation brought refreshing to my weary soul. I have a backyard patio, too. There's beauty right outside my door, if I will just take the time to notice it.

I spent time with a friend-
We were in Hawaii with another couple from our church. During our time together my friend and I shared deep heart talks as well as a lot of laughter. Both were needed and both were healing and restorative. I tend to be too much of a "I can do it myself" person. I need to prioritize spending time with trustworthy friends.

God reminded me that it is His will for me to live in peace and well being within, not just by escaping my real life by getting away, but by abiding in His peace and presence in the midst of my reality.  He reminded me that it's less about where I am, and more about how I am and whose I am. I can lose sight of how loved I am by Him and fall into the trap of trying to meet my own needs, fix myself, and fix the people and situations around me.  No wonder I struggle with weariness!  I want to learn to rest and trust in Him and allow Him to be the one in charge of fixing things in my life. I want to abide in well being.

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