relax

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My Peace Was Interrupted

Have you ever gotten away for some peace and quiet, to a place where you can relax and think clearly, only to have your peace interrupted with noise?

My Peace Was Interrupted

That happened to me the other day.

I made my annual trip to our cottage to think, pray and plan for the year ahead. One reason I go there is that I relax well there, and the other reason is that it is quiet.

Albeit the occasional noise of a lawnmower or circular saw breaks the quiet, but for the most part it is very peaceful. All our neighbours are seniors or their kids have grown up. Lily and I are the young ones in our little section.

But last year, near the end of the summer, a family moved in just kiddy-corner to us. This family broke the pattern. They have two young children, somewhere between 3 and 7. 

I remember having kids that age, but what I don’t remember is how loud they were. … either that or this is the loud family! It seems like it’s party central all the time at their place. The kids are up early and the parents are up late.

There is nothing wrong with it most of the time – except when I’m here specifically to be quiet, reflective, to think and plan.

When our kids were young, I never thought of how loud we were as a family – especially the kids. Kids’ high pitched voices without a volume control makes for some serious noise.

Even if an adult is loud, the lower tone in their voice usually only leads to muffled noise. With kids, however, you can hear every word distinctly and clearly.

Kids are busy, too. They are not going to just sit and read. … I’m not even sure one of the neighbour kids is old enough to read. 

These kids want action! They want entertainment! And they want it all the time! 

Right now there is a road hockey game going on at 10:00 in the morning right outside my window.  

It’s summer here in vacation land – who’s playing street hockey right now? 

Growing up I played plenty of road hockey. We played mostly in the spring and then in the fall. In the heat of the summer we were down at the river catching frogs or something. 

I realize that some kids are louder than others. Some instinctively play quietly. They play with each other. 

But these kids need to be yelling and they need their parents involved. All their play is a big production. 

They have two full-sized hockey nets on the road right now. I don’t think the game is going that well for the oldest kid because he’s telling everyone that the game is over. 

No one seems to be paying attention to him, however, so he keeps reminding the adults and his sister over and over again as they play around him. 

It’s noisy, but it’s also Saturday morning. They didn’t arrive until last night … and I’m leaving in an hour or so. 

So glad they were not up for the week.

Here’s the thing: You can do your best at setting up a quiet place to spend time with God. But what you still may have to battle is how loud your thoughts are, and how distracted your mind can get. Sometimes you just have to work through those noisy sessions and find a way to focus. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What distracts you the most when you are spending time with God? Leave your comments and questions below. 

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I Just Found A New Relaxing Technique

There are so many ideas on relaxing that it’s hard to know which is best.

Being relaxed is important because it helps you think clearly, solve problems and accept things. You can be more creative when you are relaxed.

When you are tense or stressed, you can feel your muscles tighten up, especially in your neck and shoulders. You can be sure your brain will also tighten up the more overwhelmed you become.

There are all kinds of relaxation techniques, but the other day I used one that I found very effective.

It starts with some breathing – not really slow like you’re under water or anything, but not breathing as usual.

… I remember the first night home from the hospital with Karlie, our first born. It was a brutal night – not that she kept waking up; she actually slept right through.

It was her breathing, and it was anything but relaxing! In fact, I had my worst night’s sleep ever.  Her breathing was so erratic that every time she would pause in breathing, I would look over to make sure she was alright.

In the morning I said to Lily, “If Karlie stops breathing she’s going to have to do it in the other room because I can’t sleep this way.”

That was the only night Karlie slept in our room.

Relaxed breathing is slow and deep as you gradually let the air out. It’s the kind of breathing where your body relaxes, your heart beats slower, your muscles lose their tension.

Then you think of something in nature that you are truly grateful for … gratitude is a very important part of this relaxation technique.

We are still in the middle of winter, and though the snow has melted at record paces these last three days, I didn’t think of snow or anything that was winter-related.

Maybe you are grateful for a frozen pond with snow-laden fir trees all around it. That’s a nice thought, but I’ve been frost bitten too often to let my mind go there.

What I thought of was a narrow, hard-packed trail in the middle of the woods, in June or July.

Even writing that sentence brought back a mental video of trails I’ve biked or walked, with trees on each side, rich green leaves all around and above, and sunlight streaming down, creating shadows and highlights on the ground.

And immediately I felt gratitude for experiencing that in nature, for getting to drink in that sight with my eyes and savour it with my memory.

All the tension of the day and the concerns of the coming events faded away. I was relaxed; it was like I got new energy, a new appreciation for life.

I was in a better place than I had been a few minutes before. I was ready to tackle things that I had been close to giving up on.

Here’s the thing: There was one more step to this relaxation technique. Sure, it’s important to physically calm down, and it’s essential to mentally be grateful, but it’s powerful to connect it all to God. So I asked Him if there was something He wanted to let me know. I paused and waited and then sensed these words: “Ride with me, Paul.” I realized that in the middle of this whole process Jesus is there with me. He is at the centre of my gratitude, and He is my calm, He wants me to relax and work with Him.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you do to relax? Leave your comments below.

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I’ve Been Waiting For A Long Time

Waiting is something we do all the time, but not that well. I guess I shouldn’t speak for everyone; there must be someone out there who’s good at waiting.

waiting for train

But I would say, on average, not many of us enjoy it. We are programmed to get things fast.

I was recently at a farmers’ market and there were all kinds of people at this one booth, trying to purchase vegetables.

The seller was helping one person at a time, but I noticed a woman getting things herself. Then instead of waiting until the seller had finished with someone else, she handed a five dollar bill over everyone’s heads, showed what she had and left. She didn’t wait at all.

Most of us would do that if we could (if we didn’t think it was impolite to butt in line) because we hate waiting.

I just read the other day that there are three hour wait times at the border to get into Canada from the USA. Our dollar is down, and gas is fairly cheap. Why not take a trip to Canada for vacation?

Well, a three hour wait at the border apparently has everyone up in arms. Travellers are pulling their hair out.

Can you imagine a car with a few kids in the back seat, continuously asking, “When are we going to get there?” … and the car hasn’t moved more that five feet in the last twenty minutes?!

Vacation? Those kids will be lucky if they survive the trip through the Canadian border.

Merchants are all up in arms as well. They say that every minute of delay at the border is more money not spent in Canadian stores. They want the government to either schedule or hire more customs officers, like right now!

Forget all this waiting! It’s tough; it’s not easy; we hate it.

But what about waiting on God?

Recently, I needed to fill a preaching assignment for just after my vacation. Usually I have that all set up before I go away, but this year I had already been turned down once and had to wait into my vacation for an answer from a second person.

One week into my vacation I got an answer that he wasn’t going to be available, so I needed a plan B.

Just as I thought of a plan and was about to act on it, I received an email from someone in my congregation who felt compelled to share with everyone what God has been doing in his life.

By the end of the second week of my vacation I had my speaker. I had to wait two weeks for God to provide, but when it was all said and done, I didn’t have to do anything to arrange it. God took care of it.

All I had to do was wait – not easy to do, but sometimes that’s what it takes.

Here’s the thing: We do have to wait for a lot of things in life. We have to wait in lines, at bank machines, restaurants, border crossings, movie theatres, and pretty much anything else you can think of. We also have to wait on God for things. Waiting is not the enemy; waiting is part of life. When it comes to God, waiting on Him will bring the best to whatever we are waiting for. Don’t tear your hair out, or fixate on the waiting. Relax, keep going and see what God will bring about.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need to wait on God for that’s been frustrating you up until now? Leave your comments below.