Energy

It's hard to be still. I am talking about those rare moments of stillness when we just let go and allow our souls to rejuvenate. It's hard to muster the emotional and mental fortitude to stop for a while. Our minds simply can't seem to stop racing with the responsibilities of today and tomorrow. I'm the world's worst about this. Amy reminds me that I have to "turn it off" sometimes and that's hard for me. Yet it's so important for us to press pause sometimes on our hyped up schedules and big responsibilities to renew our hearts and minds. I am so thankful for those uncommon moments, even brief ones, when God reminds me of His greatness and He grants rest for my soul.

Blue skies on the first day of Spring inspired a moment of quiet reflection for me. I was reminded of the quietness of the forest that I love contrasted with the loudness of creation during this season. A shadow cast by a mighty Longleaf Pine tree has caught my attention and it gives me pause. The tree cannot escape it's shadow. The shadow follows it as the sun rises and sets from horizon to horizon. The brighter the sun shines the more pronounced the shadow cast by the tree. My tree and the entire world are totally dependent on sunlight. Sunlight doesn't just illuminate, it's the ultimate catalyst for the cycles of nature including the photosynthesis within my Longleaf Pine. This unseen transfer of solar energy is amazing. It sustains life.

The Apostle John (a guy that witnessed the life of Jesus first hand) has to be one of the most amazing writers that has ever written anything down. Clearly, his inspiration was fueled by the Spirit of God. The Apostle John wrote five books of the bible. In a letter called 1 John, the Apostle articulates a profound and succinct statement about our Heavenly Father:

• This is the message that we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5 NIV).

The power of Jesus illuminates our lives from the inside out. When light comes from within, our shadow is lost. He sustains us more powerfully than the sun sustains a tree. He wants us to live well and live purposefully and that means that we must often pause to refuel ourselves with our ulitmate source of energy.