A Healing Moment - Finding Stillness During The Holidays by Donna L. Watkins - The Herbs Place

Finding Stillness During The Holidays
by Donna L. Watkins

Crows and finches travel in flocks and wolves in packs, but the lion and the eagle are usually found alone. Strength is not found in busyness and noise, but in quiet and stillness. For a lake to reflect the beauty of a surrounding forest and heavens above, it must be absolutely still.

Christ went out alone to the forests and hills. The valley was full of people who needed Him, but He knew He needed time alone. We cannot fill the needs of others with an empty tank. Creation provides so many of life’s lessons if we take time to be still and watch and listen. In stillness we receive strength for another day.

My Challenge To You:

Find 15 minutes in the day to spend time alone by a lake, on a forest trail, on a park bench. It will make a difference in your mental and physical health. If daily is too much, schedule 30 minutes twice a week. I guarantee the rewards will be more than you could ever imagine! Your troubles will float away or you will find a solution in the stillness.

Cities are for commerce and business and meeting with people, but the quiet places were created to fill our souls and keep us healthy. They also give us answers to life’s questions and troubles.

You will find that your focus of what’s important will change when you remove yourself from the media, advertising and the hustle of every-day busyness.

This is a busy season of the year with lots of emotions and because it’s cold, we may not think of parks and wooded trails. If it’s too cold to walk in nature, then drive some place and sit in the middle of it.

Too many get swept away with the commercial aspects of the Holidays. There are so many needs and ways that you can truly make a difference in lives around the world. Christmas was never about giving gifts to each other. It was about giving gifts to Jesus.

Who are you giving gifts to? Your family? Friends? Co-workers? Yourself? We’ve found so much joy in giving to those who cannot give in return – to the "least of these" that Jesus spoke about. Most of our shopping this year is being done at Samaritan’s Purse and it has been such a joy to know what a difference we can make in somebody’s entire life.

You can provide a wheelchair to somebody who has to be carried for $75. You can provide seeds and tools for a harvest of food for $25. For $45 you can provide a survival kit that has warm blankets, a lantern and more for a family in the middle of a tribal war in the Congo, or a hurricane in Grenada, or an earthquake in Iran.

A dairy goat can be given for $50 that will produce nearly a ton of milk, butter and cheese each year to provide for a family and allow them to pay for essentials like medicine and schooling for their children. There are many such gift options at Samaritan’s Purse.

My husband and I are already enjoying our Christmas gift to each other. We have sponsored a Christian child in Liberia for a year, so she will be able to go to school and have shoes and a uniform along with educational materials. It will provide hope for her family to see that God truly does provide even in the midst of a war-torn nation.

My prayer is that you will find your own place of stillness during this and all future holiday seasons. God bless you!