My ultimate role model is Leslie Knope. Her house might be a mess, but her binders are organization goals and she gets things done. She doesn't waste a single moment when working to a goal . . . she fills up every. single. second.
Doesn't that sound appealing? (my fellow OCD, schedule freaks, you know it to be true)
But see, you don't have to be a Leslie Knope fanatic to relate to this. So many of us feel the need to fill up every single moment of our day with noise, work, or distraction, whether it is schoolwork, club activities, friends, netflix, or naps. We sometimes get so busy trying to find ways to fill up our time that we forget to be silent and still.
So why is it so important to be silent and still?
I think this verse says it all: "Be still and know that I am God!" (Pslam 46:11) But let's break it down a little further:
1. We Learn to Know Ourselves
When was the last time you sat in adoration, completely still and silent (both in thought and in word), and let God speak to you?
For some of you, I'm sure that was probably yesterday. But I'm going to take a wild guess and say the majority of us haven't been mindfully silent and still for awhile. Maybe not since we moved to Benedictine and got into the swing of school and college life.
To really know God, we need to take the time to get to know Him, and to do that, we need to be still, listen, and give Him the chance to talk to us. And when we know God, we know ourselves. We all love Sarah Swafford and know how much she emphasizes being our true, authentic selves. Well, I'm going to make the connection that we can't be our true selves if we don't know who we really are. Spending time in silent adoration is really the solution. You will learn more about yourself in fifteen minutes of silence with our Lord then you ever could taking the Myers-Briggs personality test.
Especially to my fellow freshmen, we are bombarded with a completely new, overwhelming life, we are desperate to make friends, and we can sometimes forget to be our authentic selves. It is so essential that we regularly visit Jesus in adoration and take a break from the emotional whirlwind of freshman year.
2. We Surrender Control
How many of you feel like you need to have the next ten years of your life planned out? It's hard not to feel like we need to be in complete control of our life when bombarded with questions about our career, dating life, and vocation. And especially for my fellow Leslie Knope fanatics, we love planning, especially our lives. But this is never going to bring us peace.
God is in control, whether we believe it or not. When we are still and allow Him to plan and design the amazing future He has in store for us, we will be so happy and at peace. College is a rollercoaster, no doubt about it. There will be late nights, meltdowns, and homesickness. But when we understand that God is in control and all we need to do is be still, we will have the courage to keep moving forward.
God is all powerful. Surrender yourself to Him in silence and amazing things will happen! Now go to adoration and live your amazing life.
