I am an early(ish) morning person. It’s when I function the best. The last few mornings have been a bonus to me because of the covering of snow that we have had. It’s been a bonus because of the quietness that it brings. Instead of the world waking up with the sound of cars starting, dogs barking and children going off to school, the quietness that I usually experience around  6.30 in the morning can still be found at 9.30. Wonderful!
 
It’s been strange taking the dogs for a walk beside the river and seeing very few people - there has just been a deep sense of solitude, and I have grown to appreciate it.
Too often the daily schedule of life takes its toll on me as I try to meet the demands of deadlines and I seem to repeat my non-productive haste with monotonous regularity. I read a lovely expression from somewhere that we can be in such a hurry, we hate to miss one panel of a revolving door.
In this New Year I think about the strain that my nervous system undergoes - Noise,Speed ,Activities, Key decisions, People(!!) all have to be faced and these things have a way of dismissing quietness like an unwanted guest.
Of course ---some things are important---very important in many cases but not everything.
I’m telling myself if I really treasure quietness, I will have to make time for it - not just when there is snow on the ground.
One of the "big rocks"  representing my priorities this year is the presence of solitude.
The psalmist wrote "Be still, and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10 NIV). Time for quietness needs to be carved out of the schedule so that we can slow down and spend time in thought, prayer, and rest. It is then that our problems will seem so insignificant compared with how big a God we have.  That allows security, peace, and confidence to prevail
I am sure that this is what Isaiah, the prophet, meant when he wrote:
And this righteousness will bring peace. Quietness and confidence will fill the land forever. My people will live in safety, quietly at home. They will be at rest
 (32:17-18).
Isaiah also says a bit earlier in this chapter "good people will be generous to others" and may be you need to be generous to your husband or wife, especially if you have young or demanding children, by allowing them time off to seek that peace.
I am convinced that God is longing for our attention - full and undivided. His methods have not changed since Biblical times. Just because we are noisy and busy does not mean to say that He is too - far from it. He will wait until we finally sit quietly and listen.
Try it!
A happy and Peaceful New Year to you
‘Till next time.
Rich