“You can’t have a renewed mind without quiet space.” Ross Strader 02/23/20
Life was moving fast. Doesn’t it always in the modern world? Or better in the modern, first world.
Until a month ago, everyday had a long to-do list that often was handled but was unfulfilled.
Think on that for a second and you’ll get what I mean. A lot was checked off by the end of the day, but it didn’t seem like it was what truly needed to be done. It certainly wasn’t what my soul needed. And I can assure you it wasn’t what my relationships needed.
“You can’t have a renewed mind without quiet space.” This statement came from my pastor Ross in February as he continued his sermon series through the New Testament Pauline epistle to the Romans. None of us realized then that we’d have time now to experientially wrestle this thought out. I can attest now that the quiet space exists but at first it wasn’t welcomed.
I’m the early riser in our family; my lovely is the night owl. Both our boys take after their momma in their joy of late night living and their disinterest in seeing the sunrise.
I awaken to quiet (usually) and have free run of the house for hours uninterrupted. Prior to this slowdown I’d enjoy a single quiet weekend morning and think that that was enough for my soul. I’d dash out the door for work on weekdays and not relish any of the early dawn stillness. Now that I’m something like 27 days into the stay-at-home, social distancing lifestyle, I can attest that a quiet AM here or there isn’t sustaining.
It’s barely memorable.
It’s not enough to renew anything or anyone.
Having day after day after endless day is a generous gift to a soul that can provide vast swaths of quiet. The idea that St Paul was getting at with his “renewing of the mind” concept isn’t a zap-a-quickie-doodle kind of proposition. The renewal, healing and restoration are time intensive processes. And quiet, especially my early AM quiet, is having that effect on me.
It is nothing radical.
It is nothing jarring.
And I’m realizing that’s the beauty of the quiet space leading to renewal equation. It’s a gentle kindness on the soul that takes me from point A to a point B I couldn’t even see prior to this season and frankly still can’t clearly outline.
So, Ross preached “You can’t have a renewed mind without quiet space.”
The question is: do I want those?
Do you?
Of course we do. We all want a quieted mind and heart full of all the good, true, noble, healthy, right things.
Even the most vocal anti-God atheist wants good things. He can have propositions about both where or who they come from, but we all want a fresh, renewed perspective.
We all want relationships that matter and a life of depth, joy and purpose.
The catch in the statement from my pastor derived from St Paul is this: One precedes the other, as in one produces the other.
There’s an order and no option for a shortcut.
Quiet Space is how we enter renewal.
Scripture clearly speaks about God-in-the-quiet.
It’s becoming more evident to me with every quiet morning.
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