Life moves on but God says to take the time to stand still.

I am sitting on an almost 70 degree day in the cemetery on a bench. Not what I planned- I planned to ride my bike and enjoy the day and stop here on my ride. Through a series’s of unfortunate events, the bike had to be carried back to the car. so with the bike ride gone, I went and got my comfort food, a Diet Coke and came to cemetery to be still. A year ago today we baptized my friend, her husband and daughter. Ten days later he died. Oh we knew he was dying- we all are terminal but he had a brain tumor. Time was running out on the proverbial clock. Hence why I am sitting on a bench in the cemetery talking to Mark. Actually I haven’t talked as much as I have listened. I have learned to listen. To God, to others, to my kids and to strangers in the checkout line at Hy-Vee. Listening makes you aware of things. Things like the sun : you can hear the sun. And the breeze and the dead leaves crunching under my feet. There are things to hear when you are quiet. The traffic on the road reminds me that life goes on. The sun weaving its way through the trees is a gentle reminder that time stands still for no one. I tune in some music to think with and God was ready. The song was called, Stand still. “ When you feel you have reached the end he’ll make a way for you- stand still and let God move.” So many times I want to be the one moving cuz that means something is happening. I need to be reminded that moving doesn’t bring me any closer to what God wants of me, and sometimes I am just moving in circles. God moves when I don’t have the strength or don’t know which direction. So in the quiet of the oddest place to find inspiration I just listen to God move. I watch the shadows fall and am thankful for where I am sitting. The shadows bring the trees alive with movement even though I knows it’s only a shadow, it’s just kind of neat. I am sitting on a memory of the sweetest kind. Sometimes God wants us to just stand still long enough to let the world around us move and bring beauty we don’t see moving! So here I sit, a few tears but lots of thankfulness that God allowed me the chance to be here, in this place with memories that are sweet enough to shed a tear over! Some people never have the blessing of being missed by others.