This meme about the “power of stepping away” reminded me of a something that happened to a friend of mine. She had been in charge of the desserts for a large wedding, but she forgot to bring plates, napkins and oh my... the forks! And in her rush to get them to the wedding, she accidentally locked the keys in the car. Her husband had the only other key and was on the other side of town, and none of her older children (or their cars) were around. She was just about to go into full on panic (we have all been there, right?! 😩), when she said she just stopped! 🛑 At that moment the Spirit touched her and whispered, “Ask the Lord for help.. She said “Marie, it was amazing! I suddenly remembered another car key in my desk I never used!” Long story short... she made it to the wedding with her forgotten items in just the nick of time!
The power of stepping away....
I remember a specific time when one of my teenagers said something to me that wasn’t as nice as it could have been (ever been there too?🤣) ...and then they ran up the stairs! My first reaction was to run after her and “discuss” it a bit more, 😉 but I felt a quiet prompting, “don’t go up there, stay here.” That brief hesitation was all we needed to calm down and another argument was avoided.
We all have examples like this I’m sure, because when we stop and listen we will have the power to step away.
How many times has the Lord asked us to just... ”be still” ?
“Be still and know that I am God” ~Psalm 46:10
”The Lord was not in the wind; and He was not in the earthquake, the Lord was not in the fire...but in a still small voice.” ~Kings 19:11-13
“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.” ~James 1:19
“A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.” ~Proverbs 15:1
In the words of my wise Mother. “Marie, if you’re ever in a challenging situation, stop and listen, then act, don’t REACT!”
Sometimes during the holidays, for all the right reasons, we push ourselves beyond what our normal limits allow and it leaves us in a place where it is hard to hear the Lord’s voice. When I look back on situations I wish I could have a “do-over” on, it’s usually when I reacted instead of acted. I bet you have a story to tell also!! I am going to use the power of stepping away this Sunday post and take the time to listen to your stories of when you stepped away! I know you will inspire us all this Sunday!!! 🥰
P.S. I'm sorry I didn’t get to post this earlier in the day, but I went to church and celebrated my son‘s birthday before heading back to L.A. for The Talk tomorrow!