Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Quiet time with God

For some reason I've come to love the outdoors more than I ever have before. I was always an indoorsy kind of person. But this year, with the good weather here, I've started sitting on our patio early every morning, even before I get dressed. Our patio is like an outdoor living room. We're so fortunate to have it. And here I sit for a couple of hours, starting around 6 am (sometimes even earlier), with my coffee, journal, and Bible.

I listen to the many different birds, chirping and calling around me. I enjoy the flowers. I feel the freshness of the air - maybe a slight breeze. And I thank God for it all. And in that quiet I sense God with me in a very real way.

So many times, in my small group, I've expressed a desire to feel God's presence. I've struggled often with it. Now I've found that sitting quietly in the midst of nature, fully aware, helps me to feel God's presence. I feel at peace.

I write a bit in my journal, read a few verses in my Bible, and I talk to God about whatever comes into my head at the time, both in words that I speak in my head or write in my journal.

Because I start my quiet time so early, I don't need to concern myself with what I need to get busy with. My stomach will tell me when it's time to have breakfast and get the rest of the day moving. No need to worry my mind over the day.

Each morning is like a little holiday. Each morning is time away from my worries. Each morning is time with God. It refreshes and prepares me for the day.

I was going to tell you about a little blue butterfly that came to visit me, but got side-tracked. That will have to wait. It's a delightful story, so I hope you'll come back to "hear" it.

Praying that you will find peaceful times too.

6 comments:

sbwrites said...

Marja,
Now that I'm into gardening in a major way, I love the outdoors even more as well. For me, gardening has enabled me to "see" things ever more clearly and to engage with nature in a more knowledgeable way. I've not doubt that it makes me feel better and better!

Susan

Brenda said...

Hey Marja,
I'll be thinking of you when I'm up around six doing the same as you are...only we're 3 hours ahead of you so you'll still be fast asleep! I love the early morning but I've had a hard time getting up and getting going because of my new med., Seroquel. It has taken me a couple of months to get used to it but I'm thankful to be up early again.....in my new small town. It's very quiet here.

I'm SO glad you are connecting with God and loving your early morning time. Summer is a wonderful time to establish the habit. Not so easy to continue it into the winter.Your patio would be full of snow, eh?

Brenda said...

p.s.

My friend gave me a new book for my birthday. Don't know if you've heard of it. "Darkness Is My Only Companion".....a Christian response to mental illness by Kathryn Greene-McCreight. I'm just into it but already liking it very much.

marja said...

Hi Brenda!

So good to hear from you again. I've been wondering how you are. So you too love that early morning time. The words "Be still and know that I am God" come to mind, eh? Such a good time to connect with Him. It gets the day off to such a good start. I'll be thinking of you as well at 6am and imagine the clock rolled back three hours.

Yes, I've read "Darkness my Only Companion" and enjoyed it. But one book which I'm not quite finished but enjoy even more is "Hope for Wholeness: The Spiritual Path to Freedom from Depression" by Sharon L. Fawcett. This lady went through nine years of depression, then spent the next nine years writing this book. It's excellent. I was quite depressed when I started reading it but found it comforting.

As I said, so good to hear from you again. Have a great rest of the summer, okay?

marja said...

Hey Susan,

I'm sorry! I got busy and overlooked publishing and responding to this comment of yours.

It's hard to tell for sure what makes you feel better, isn't it? You always wonder whether your mood would have improved anyway, even if you hadn't started spending more time outside.

Yet it's in the outdoors I believe we're intended to be when the weather is good. A more "natural" place for us to be, eh?

Spin said...

Wow, that sounds SO nice!! I love my God-time and it seems that Creation has a way of pointing to the Creator.

Hope you are having a great summer!