Be Still and Know

Escaping out of the hot house, I listen to the noises of the night and watch a spider intricately spin it’s web.  The evening air cools my sticky skin, while the vast orchestra of crickets soothes my mind with a slow dance.  Lightning bugs lift like lanterns in a dusky atmosphere.  Birds wings flutter as they nestle in their nests, singing to themselves a quick lullaby.  The street light reflects on the silent cars that have finally parked after daily errands. 

The spider is on night shift, I sigh in relief, knowing that my day is done.  Stillness is necessary in rest.  I drown out stillness too much with entertainment.  Constant noise arrests my thoughts because it doesn’t want me to be still.  The spider sits for a moment waiting for something to get caught in his web.  Then he softly cascades downward with another line of thread to cover a larger area.  God captures my attention when outside interference is removed.  Stillness hushes the worries of the day with promise of a new day approaching.  God doesn’t have to yell as loud at me when everything is turned off and I am tuned in. 

 

 

 

 

Is Integrity Lost?

Is integrity lost in our society? I feel that it is lacking greatly in character among many that I encounter on a day to day basis. It saddens me that the world has become such a self-indulgent monster, devouring whatever lies in the path before or ahead of it. Integrity is defined as the quality of being honest and fair. It’s also defined as a firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values. I grew up in a time that we were taught to be mindful of others around us, to give an honest answer, and to be ready to pitch in whenever a job needed to be complete. Now, it seems you have to prod people to notice their behavior, you have to pull teeth for the truth, and you have to beg for something to be done.

Being a mother, I hope that my son will grow to be a man of integrity. I know that I am not perfect, but I hope that the lessons his father and I teach him stick. It worries me that he has to grow up in a world that seems anything but honest. Those who are honest have to question others simply based on the lack of honesty as a whole. This is what happens when God isn’t the center of our lives. My prayer is that people will awaken from this monster of self-indulgence and that they will run away from it; that they will see the need of God being the center. My prayer is that people will diligently seek to be changed by God to where others can’t help but see Him residing in their lives. If we say we are living for Him then why do our fruits stink to high heavens? It’s because we are living for ourselves and not Him. We want the benefits of God but not the sacrifice that comes with it. We would be so much better off if we would yield to God and be his true representatives, don’t you think?

“The godly walk with integrity;
blessed are their children who follow them.
When a king sits in judgment, he weighs all the evidence,
distinguishing the bad from the good.
Who can say, “I have cleansed my heart;
I am pure and free from sin”?
False weights and unequal measures[a]—
the Lord detests double standards of every kind.
Even children are known by the way they act,
whether their conduct is pure, and whether it is right.”

Proverbs 20:7-11 (NLT)