STILLNESS

Earlier this week, I grabbed my camera for a short walk despite the overcast skies and biting wind. It felt more like a winter day than spring. Letting the sounds of bird activity guide my direction, I scanned high and low for potential photo opportunities.

Eventually, I came to a quiet grove of willows in a small cove at the lake’s edge. Sheltered from the cold wind, it was a cozy refuge. I sat at a picnic table to enjoy a moment of stillness. It seemed the table had been strategically placed for this very purpose.

While the wind moved the branches overhead, I was enveloped in quietness. Shortly after sitting, I heard a muffled tap, tap, tap in the willow branches below me. I pulled up my camera in time to capture a male Downy Woodpecker. This species is the smallest woodpecker in North America.

The woodpecker, undeterred by my presence, hunted along the branches, tapping here and there in search of insects.

It was a simple moment. There was no adrenaline rush from a bugling bull elk or the majesty of a diving Bald Eagle, nor was there breathtaking awe at the splendor of Aurora Borealis dancing joyfully in the night sky.

It was a simple little woodpecker in a quiet place and the stillness brought an overwhelming and intimate sense of God’s presence.

I’ve discovered that stillness is one of the most difficult postures to maintain in our hectic North American lifestyle. But what treasures might be uncovered if we intentionally practice the art of stillness?

Stillness: A productive posture to hear your Heavenly Father.

The woodpecker became preoccupied with a hole in the limb. He tapped in it aggressively, then spun around the opposite side of the branch and tapped again. He repeated several of these cycles until he was rewarded for his efforts. Finally, he reached into the hole, and his clever technique yielded a rather large spider. He climbed up the branch and flew away with his lunch.

STILLNESS. Recognizing and understanding that which is easily overlooked in busyness. 

“Let be. And be still. And know (recognize and understand) that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth!” ~ Psalm 46:10 AMPC

What I observed and photographed of the woodpecker was because of stillness. I sat in a calm place on a blustery day to be still without an agenda, plan, or knowing there was even a subject to photograph.

What emerged in stillness was fascinating to watch. And I think I learned a bit more about the woodpecker from my experience than I had previously known.

“And He [LORD] said [to Elijah], Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord. And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake, and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire [a sound of gentle stillness and] a still, small voice.” ~ (see 1 Kings 19)

STILLNESS. A productive posture to hear God. Do you want to recognize Him? Understand Him? Learn from Him? Hear Him?

No agenda. No prayer list. Quiet, still, observing, listening, breathing, vulnerable.

“Recognize that I AM GOD…”

What does that look like in your life? What details will be revealed about WHO HE IS and WHO YOU ARE?

STILLNESS may look different to you than walking on a blustery day with a camera in hand. Take a moment and find your stillness. I’m excited about what you may discover, too.

In the Stillness – (the autumn)

“Downy Woodpecker”