Quiet

I've lots to think about again; How do people spend so much time without employing their brains?
I, persoanlly, love to think. I love to observe the process in others as well. Particularly those who do it well. The process is ever so much more interesting than the conclusion.
I quit teaching a bible study some time ago. Has it been a year? I taught for 10. Years, that is. Every week.
I love to teach. I love the research and study that it takes to be prepared to teach. I miss it, in fact. That is a fabulous way to watch people think and learn and grow.
When I quit, one of my friends was deeply alarmed. He was certain I was making a dreadful mistake. As if walking away from that was equivelant to forsaking my faith. But it was absolutely the right thing to do.
These days, I am not in "ministry." And I haven't walked away from my faith.

One of the things that I have learned while thinking about this whole thing, is how productive it can be to do nothing.
I can do niothing at all while being enormously selfish. I do it all the time. It's the "doing nothing" where I am actively avoiding obligation and commitment and productivity. It's lazy.

Or, I can "do nothing" with a sense of expectation and preparedness. You know in the old western movies where the Indian Guide tells all the cowboys to shhhhhh, and he puts his ear to the ground? That's what I am talking about. It's the deliberate Hush that affords opportunity for me to put my ear to the ground in expectation. It's the stillness that allows me to listen. How different this is from lazyness!
Then I am ready when opportunity presents itself. When something needs to be done, I am available.
"In Quietness and Confidence shall be your strength."
It's not that my days have suddenly become uncluttered and my calendar is clear. It's more that I am thinking about listening and being still. It's more inside than out. It's a good thing.
A very good thing.