When You're Feeling Restless

The wind blew angry last night. I got up around 1:00 am to fumble my way to the bathroom and close some windows and saw rain hurled against the glass.

A restless night.

But now a new day, a new week that of course I'm hesitant to step into and a feeling stirring deep down that something is changing?

A restless start.

I think this feeling is brought on by the book I'm reading: Everything is Spiritual by Rob Bell. I've been reading it in the morning when I get up and at night before I fall asleep. I want to swallow whole all his thoughts. I feel like he knows me, and is telling my story.

I will not try to set down specific quotes, I would quote the entire book I've read so far. I do think you should order the book and see what you think.

After reading as much as I have I have decided I want to be made new and set free. I want to reach out  and include rather than pull back and exclude because of my own fear and judgment. I want to be comfortable with not understanding.

Our niece Olivia got married this past weekend. It was a lovely ceremony which of course I took zero pictures of but I did snap one of these guys. All together. 

Freedom. Spirit. Matter. Form.

This morning after I read some of Rob I read this:

"Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still" (Exodus 14:13-14).

Those words! What amazing words. What a promise.

Maybe you should read them again or pull out your Bible and read the whole chapter. It's good!

"Then the angel of God who had been traveling in front of Israel's army withdrew and went behind them...coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel" (Exodus 14:19).

A holy, mighty, angelic buffer. The angel switched from leading to buffering and Moses and his people stepped out between the walls of water on faith. The angel was behind, the water was ahead and they walked forward into something terrifying, mystifying, and mind-boggling.

"Don't be afraid. Stand firm. You will see your deliverance. The Lord will fight for you. Be still." 

Wow!

Made new. Set free. Freedom from judgement and fear. Freedom from perceived understandings of how things work. Freedom from constant motion, constant thought, constantly trying to fix things or move something from one place to another. 

The story that happened back then in Exodus is happening today. 

What was, still is.

Do you feel a restless stirring down deep, underneath your surface? Is it time to step into a wall of water? Time to be free? Be new? Be still?

Everything is Spiritual says Rob Bell. 

I believe it.

The sidewalk in front of our house.