Come and Find the Quiet Center
—
This week Jan and I have been enjoying a “staycation.” That’s a vacation when you stay home. We had plans to go to Massachusetts to see family, but Covid (theirs) got in the way. So, at the last minute we cancelled tickets and have been catching up on rest. I didn’t realize how mentally and emotionally tired I was. I think I have been spiritually tired as well. I’ve not been spiritually centered in the presence of the Holy Spirit.
As I took a long walk through Simpsonwood Park to visit the prayer labyrinth, I began to sing a hymn we sang at Scott Boulevard. The words are written by Shirley Erena Murray, and sung to the tune BEACH SPRING (Come, All Christians, Be Committed).
Come and find the quiet center
In the crowded life we lead,
Find the room for hope to enter,
Find the frame where we are freed:
Clear the chaos and the clutter,
Clear our eyes that we can see
All the things that really matter,
Be at peace, and simply be.
The gentle invitation of the hymn helped me to quiet my noisy heart and listen for God’s still, small voice. I was able to find room to allow the hope of God to enter my heart, to enter my life. Hope has been hard to find lately.
As I began to clear the chaos and clutter of my stress and striving, God’s vision for me became clearer. I began to see what really matters in my life; which mountains are mine to climb and which mountains are not mine. As I walked the steps of the labyrinth, I was at peace with simply being, without striving to do anything.
The hymn not only is an invitation to individually find our quiet center in God, but a call to experience with others that same peace we find in the center.
In the Spirit let us travel,
Open to each other’s pain,
Let our loves and fears unravel,
Celebrate the space we gain:
There’s a place for deepest dreaming,
There’s a time for heart to care,
In the Spirit’s lively scheming
There is always room to spare.
When we travel in the Spirit we are open to share each other’s pain. In our trust of each other we expose our deepest loves and fears. Do you have any friends with whom you can be open like that? Friends with whom you can share your deepest dreams and know they will be guarded by a caring heart.
Sometimes silence frightens us. We don’t know what to do with ourselves. We fill our lives with activities and distractions to cover the emptiness of silence. This wonderful hymn is an invitation to find God’s presence in the midst of all the chaos and clutter of our lives. Let silence be your friend who leads you to know the presence of God with you each day.
-Rev. Greg Smith
Practice
Sing the two verses of this hymn slowly. Let the words sink into your heart, slowing your constant desire to be active. Receive the invitation of these words and be at peace. For a few minutes, simply be.
Greg Smith
Legacy Ministry for Older Adults