Be Present: Quiet Places by Elisa Brown

Last summer while attending a conference in San Francisco I noticed a large beautiful building a few blocks from the conference. I found out later it was a Synagogue and so – with my new smart phone – I googled the area and found their website. It turns out they had a Friday evening service for opening of Sabbath or “Shabbat” and so I went.

My life was in the midst of being completely turned upside down. I had just left friends, family, job, car, computer, and everything in Malawi where I had lived for three years to come back to the United States for a new job in a new field, new town, different culture, and a new job with a lot of turmoil and angst as well. I was in San Francisco for this conference somewhere between buying a new car and driving a U-Haul to California. It was a time of transition – to put it mildly.

I had never attended a service in a Synagogue before and found it refreshing and the people welcoming. There was a poetic feeling to the whole service with a time of celebration, a time of mourning, and teaching all encompassed with prayers and songs to GOD. The setting was beautiful with carved wood, stained glass, wooden benches in a circular sanctuary.

As I sat and listened to the words and prayers of those around me in this sacred space I remembered to stop and listen to where my heart was right then. My personal resources were completely drained and I needed renewal. I was busy with all that comes with moving between countries and jobs and needed that quiet space to rest and start to find strength again. Strength didn’t come from rushing into the next day or week to my new job, new house, and new car but I was reminded that Sabbath is needed in the midst of my turmoil to renew. Not just one day a week – although that is vital – but a REAL rest for my soul which comes over time.

I found the poem below at the Synagogue in their book of prayer and it put into words the thoughts I was having and reminded me to stop – in the midst of the chaos in my life – and listen to the GOD who loves me; to find the stability and to be aware of His presence and from that place of strength to “turn again to your service.”

Take a few moments to read it slowly. Read it again aloud and listen to the words that resonate with you.

“We reach for You, our God

From our quiet places.

May we stand still, for a brief moment,

And listen to the rain –

Stand still for a brief moment,

And watch the play of sunlight and shadow on the leaves

For a brief moment – listen to the world.

Let us stop the wheels of every day to be aware of Shabbat

Find the stillness of the sanctuary which the soul cherished.

Renew the covenant of an ancient people.

We need a quiet space to test the balance of our days;

The weight of our own deeds

Against the heaviness of the world’s demands.

The balance is precarious – steady us with faith.

Quiet places and stillness –

Where we will hear our own best impulses speak.

Quiet places and stillness –

From which we will reach out to each other.

We will find strength in silence

And with this strength

We will turn again to your service.”  --from the Jewish Siddur

Encounter:

• Where is GOD speaking to you now (not last week or next month), today? 
• What is He saying through your “best impulses”? 
• Rest in the strength here for you. Imagine the presence of GOD here, now and linger there and listen.

Devotional by Elisa Brown.  Posted by A. Allan Martin by permission.