Be Still!!!

"I have discovered that all human evil comes from this, man's being unable to sit still in a room. "
-Blaise Pascal

"Stay Still"
"Be STILL!"
"Junior!!!! Why can't you just be still!?!!?"
-Parents throughout the world, throughout time

"Be still, and know that I am God"
-Psalm 46:10a

Today was "Youth Sunday" at church. At Church at Charlotte, this means that one of our youth pastors provides the sermon and there is a testimony from one of the teenagers. They also take care of other activities that are usually taken care of by adults. Today I was truly blessed by the younger folks. Prior to the sermon, while listening to one of the high school students talking about when he accepted Christ, it occurred to me that there is a great richness during the spiritual growth of Christians from age 15 - 25. I became a Christian in 1986 while in my first year at Ohio State. Soon after when I really began actively pursuing God I found myself with multiple opportunities to unite with others my age in prayer, fellowship, worship and service. There always seemed to be Bible studies or other types of gatherings to encourage this. During this time, all cares of the day seem to easily fade away as we turned our focus towards God. The young man with his testimony this morning reminded me of this. He spoke of a retreat, and prayer time, and when he accepted Christ. It was all really good.

Since college things have changed. I married and we have been blessed with two awesome boys. We've had the opportunity to go to graduate school and live in four different states. Life has been good. But here's the irony: Life gets in the way. With moves, worldly pursuits, time and age come busyness and stress from work, home and family. So the irony is this. I sometimes sit in church, already thinking about an email I need to send tomorrow or something I need to do around the house. Of course I'm sitting quietly, and nobody has a clue that I'm struggling to pay attention. I think I know why they don't notice though. I'm convinced many of them might be composing their own emails in their heads, or thinking about that tuition bill that's due or how they need to clean up the garage when they get back from church. It lingers into our head and we obsess. It's ironic how we have "progressed." In college I could go to a fellowship meeting the night before a big exam or spend an hour in prayer at lunchtime with some friends the day of the exam and have the test completely blocked out - thinking only about my relationship with God. So we often look at youth and sometimes discount them or patronize them, and yet, I have to admire their ability to focus and focus well on what matters most. Adults are pretty good at sitting still, but are they really still? No, this is something we, as adults can try to emulate. The teens can be our model.