Rockin

Come to me all you who are weary and  burdened and I will give you rest.  Matthew 11:28

I love rocking chairs and my favorite place to rock is outside on a porch or a deck.  When I have the chance to sit and rock, there is a peace and calm that just seem to wash over me.  It’s funny how quickly you fall into a gentle rhythm when you rock; something often missing from the chaos of our days. There are a lot of things we do quickly but rocking in a  rocking chair isn’t really one of them.  Its funny how just a few minutes of gently moving back and forth can cause you to slow your roll and breathe.

In all honesty, I’ve never really thought too much about rocking until this weekend.  I was sitting in a rocking chair on a patio  looking out at the dry Texas Prairie.  I was just taking in all the beauty of the redish brown dirt and dry landscape.  I noticed as I rocked that it was so flat I could see for miles.  I sat there just soaking it all in watching a couple of rabbits hopping around amongst the rose bushes.  It was dry and hot but the wind was blowing a bit so I didn’t really notice the heat.  The view was beautiful in its own way.  As I rocked, it occurred to me that just last weekend I was rocking in West Virginia and the view was so very different.  As I rocked last weekend I looked out on the tree covered mountains.  Everything was green and there were flowers of every color within my view.  From that rocker I could also see and hear two beautiful fountains.  I remember just sitting there soaking it all in until the mosquitoes chased me inside.

As I rocked away in West Texas thinking about rocking in West Virginia I thought about rocking on my own front porch looking out at the corn field as we chatted with the neighbors who stopped by for a visit.  This summer I’ve rocked in a lot of different places.  I got the chance to rock on the porch with my dad and my brother who live more than 600 miles away.  I’ve rocked and prayed. I’ve rocked and laughed. I’ve rocked and sipped hot coffee.  And last night I rocked and cried as I prayed for the soul of my good friends dad who lost his battle with cancer. This summer I’ve rocked babies to sleep and listened to the tales of my favorite new nurse.  As I type this blog on a late night flight back home to Michigan I realized the Father has used something I love to teach me something important.

As I pondered all my “rocking” it occurred to me that those times stick so vividly in my mind because the all have something in common.  I slowed down and opened my eyes to what was around me.  In the slow gentle rhythm of the rocker I was able to soak in the beauty of my surroundings.  I was able to soak in the presence of those rocking with me.  I was able to just be still, shut up and take in all in.  When I think about it, I was really seeing God and his goodness in the Texas prairie and the West Virginia mountains and the Clinton County corn and in the sleepy baby Francis and the giggly baby Silas.  I felt the love of God as I laughed and prayed with family and friends.  In a rocker I am reminded of the slow and gentle ways God is a part of the rhythm of every moment of every day.  The trick however is to slow down and recognize it.

I love how fancy God gets sometimes with his lessons.  It would have been so easy for him to make something in my life come to a crazy screeching halt to teach me  to slow down but instead he let me learn while enjoying some beautiful stuff and people all while rocking in my chair.  Is he great or what!

A Seed To Plant: Take a few minutes this week and sit in a rocking chair. Let yourself slow down and allow God grant you some peace.​

Blessings on your day!