This photo posted by a friend reminds me of a place in Mobile Bay I visited from years past. Destroyed by one of a string of hurricanes, the pier on stilts once provided a lovely walk from a secluded bay house out to the water. Ancient oaks would be just outside the frame of the photo, as I remember the scene...
Such a restful spot at dusk or dawn is just what we need on our mental rolodex to transport us quickly to that place of calm. Calm in the storm. Calm before the storm. Calm that follows the storm. Whatever that place is that conjures serenity and peace, let us practice going there in our minds often.
And whatever our physical location, and no matter our circumstances, we can learn to find a center of tranquility and deep peace even in the very center of the storm--the eye of the hurricane comes to mind--when we turn our hearts toward Jesus and lean into prayer.
Earnest, heartfelt prayer. Not the perfunctory recitals we've heard others use, but our own native language, however halting or lumbering may be our speech. Then, if words are an impediment to keep us away from prayer, cut them out altogether. Sit or walk in silence, honoring the One who sits and walks by the way with us.
May we come to yearn for a time of merely sitting on...the dock of the Bay...with a Friend who knows us full well and loves us without ceasing.
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