In the Stillness

 One of my favorite things to do at Christmas time is to sit up after everyone else has gone to bed, and just sit in the stillness. The sound of the pellet stove is the only sound in the house. The glow of the Christmas tree pairs with the strands of lights in the dining room. It's so peaceful.

It's a great time to think, but often I'll just sit there.

My other favorite thing to do at Christmas time is to watch Hallmark movies late into the night, which ensures that I have the living room all to myself.

I just love to sit here. It doesn't feel like Christmas time until the tree is up and decorated. Then, what really makes it feel like Christmas for me is when I just sit here, taking it all in. 

It's difficult to describe the feeling. The best I can do is to call it the stillness, because that's what it is. After the bustle and busyness of the day, after all the socializing or chores, or baking, and noise, the peace and quiet is very restoring. It's the sense that all is well, that things will be good, that whatever troubles may arise will get sorted out. It's the feeling that you haven't a care in the world. It's peace, hope, and the knowledge that God's got this world in His hands, and nothing happens without His notice. Even the little things, like gazing at a Christmas tree on a December evening.

Stillness has kind of been a big thing for me the past few months. I started a Pinterest board called "Be Still" for things like this. The stillness sounds so uneventful, but it's quite wondrous what can happen in the stillness. You know, they say that the stillness is the moment when it's easiest to hear God speaking to you. I don't know. However, I do know the sense of peace that comes over me in moments like this, when I have nothing else going on, and I can just sit and be. I always feel a little more alive after sitting in the stillness. 

It's what I love about nature. One of my favorite places to be is the beach. Now, the beach obviously is not quiet, with the riotous waves crashing, it's noisy. To me though, the world is still. Yes, the ocean crashes, but time seems to freeze beside the ocean. The wild waves are a part of the stillness, just like the pellet stove hums in the background of my Christmas scene.

The stillness is where I feel most alive, it's where I truly worship the Creator. There are no distractions (usually), the noise is minimal, the troubles of the world seem to fade away in the face of the stillness.

Stillness doesn't have to mean stopping everything, or sitting quietly. I think of it as somewhere between rest and peace. I think, like rest, it's important to have stillness. Rest can happen in the midst of the crazy and the busy. A person can rest from tasks while other people are running around screaming, but the stillness isn't usually found in those moments. When you live with people, the stillness can be hard to find, so I cherish the moments at Christmas time, and I always look forward to them.

I will finish writing now, and continue to stare at my Christmas tree, in the stillness. 

I hope you are also able to find a bit of stillness in the middle of the craziness of the holidays. Merry Christmas! I will be back again next year. I'm thinking of writing about New Year's Resolutions or something, we'll see.