Come and find the quiet center

Through thoughtful essays about issues in the spiritual life and through spiritual practices that still the mind and connect us to God, we can…

 “Come and find the quiet center

in the crowded life we lead,

find the room for hope to enter,

find the frame where we are freed:

clear the chaos and the clutter,

clear our eyes, that we can see

all the things that really matter,

be at peace, and simply be.

 

Silence is a friend who claims us,

cools the heat and slows the pace,

God it is who speaks and names us,

knows our being, touches base,

making space within our thinking,

lifting shades to show the sun,

raising courage when we’re shrinking,

finding scope for faith begun.

 

In the Spirit let us travel,

open to each other’s pain,

let our loves and fears unravel,

celebrate the space we gain:

there’s a place for deepest dreaming,

there’s a time for heart to care,

in the Spirit’s lively scheming

there is always room to spare.”

Words © 1992, 2005 Hope Publishing Company, 380 S Main Pl, Carol Stream, IL 60188

By Shirley Erena Murray

 

This lovely hymn captures the essence of a life live in Christ, in which our world-driven minds are quieted so that we can hear God’s “still, small voice.”[1] That quiet center that we find in the Indwelling Spirit of God brings us everything we need—physical, mental, emotional and spiritual needs are filled. And so, we are freed to give ourselves back to God through our love and service to the world, to whatever purpose He has called us. And that’s the beauty of the “quiet center,” a place of peace and trust and love and compassion. Amen.

[1] 1 Kings 19:12