Be still, be held

 

This blog is one that has been on my heart since I got back from the Bahamas, and I'm really excited about it because I think this message is super important and definitely needs to be heard by everyone at some point through life, including myself for sure.  One of the schools that we worked with while in the Bahamas, had a nursery connected to the school. There were kids ranging from newborn babies to about 2 years old. I found myself in this nursery any opportunity that I had, so basically anytime we weren’t teaching, I was in the nursery holding and playing with the babies… It was my favorite part of my day for sure. There was one baby in particular that I grew to literally love so much just within the first hour of being with Him, and that was baby Grasyon. I was spending so much time with Him that the women working in the nursery even began to call me “Grayson's second mom”, and I absolutely loved it!  There were a lot of things about Grayson that taught me so many things, but the biggest thing he taught me was what it should mean to be held by Jesus.  So Grayson did this thing, where when he woke up from a nap, or got done eating, he NEEDED to be held. And if you even set him down in a crib or high chair for one single second, he would burst into tears. So on the third day at the school, I was holding him, pacing back and forth in the nursery, just praying over him and loving on him. But there were some other little babies that were tugging at my shorts because they wanted to be held, so I went over to one of the cribs, and set Grayson down, and of course, he started bawling his little eyes out. So I immediately looked around for a toy that he could chew on, or just have in his hands, or just even look at to distract him from the fact that I wasn't holding him anymore. So I found this little stuffed animal monkey, about the size of a keychain, and placed it in front of his face, and sure enough, he stopped crying. He was completely and utterly mesmerized by this tiny little monkey, completely forgetting about me, and that I was no longer holding him. So I turned around and sat on the floor loving on all the other little babies, and about 3 minutes went by, and Grayson started screaming bloody murder all over again… So I jumped up and went and found another little toy and placed it in front of him, and so he stopped crying and was again just locked in on this little toy, forgetting about me again. This cycle happened about three more times, before I realized he just had to be held by me, or he wouldn't ever be satisfied. So I picked him up, he immediately stopped crying, and I started walking back and forth in the room again. This time when I was holding little Grayson, he started pulling on my bracelet that I had on my wrist, so I took it off and gave it to him while I was still holding him, and it was like he had this complete peace come over him… So I walked over to the crib, placed him down with my bracelet I had given him, and probably got to spend about an hour with the other little kids, before he needed me to hold him again.  But when I picked Grayson back up, I heard the Lord clear as day tell me “you are no different than Grayson.” I didn’t take too much time to think about it because of how busy we were that trip, but on the plane ride back home, I found time to journal, reflect on the trip, and be completely still and this is what I came up with…  We as humans, are really no different than baby Grayson. In this life, we are going to be given, find, buy, and seek things from this world. Ladies, we will distract ourselves with boys, instagram feeds, new makeup to make ourselves look prettier, gossip that brings other people down to make us feel better about ourselves. Boys y'all might distract yourself with sports, girls, bullying other guys that aren’t as strong as you, drinking, drugs… But just as Grayson could only be distracted for a few moments, so can we… Before we are uncomfortable, unsatisfied, and in desperate need to be held by our Creator. We need to realize that this life is a gift that was given by the source of life, and us not taking time to be with the source, will leave us feeling lifeless at times. If we don’t find time to be still in His presence, and just surrender ourselves to be completely held by Him, we are going to find ourselves constantly uncomfortable in this life we are living. But notice how, when I gave Grayson a  piece of me, when I gave him my bracelet, that he was able to be content with that. Just how when we go to God, in prayer, bible study, or just a moment to be still in His presence he will grant us things. He will gift us wisdom for a situation you're in, strength for a hard time you're going through, love for that person that did you wrong, self control for that temptation that you face, He will grant you things OF Him. And when you have put into practice those things, your soul will thirst for more, but for the time being, you will be truly satisfied… Just as Grayson was content with my bracelet for that hour, opposed to the several seconds of uncomfortable distractions.  As Humans we need to be held. We need to be still. In Exodus, Moses tells the Israelites just before parting the red sea, “The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”  Whatever fear you have, temptation your fighting, relationship you're struggling in, or emotion that feels too big, don’t allow any of those distractions to make you forget that you have access to the source of life, and He allows us to be still in His presence, and be held by Him. He will fight for you.  If you have been praying, or searching for a sign to surrender that thing that has been weighing your heart down, this is it. Don't distract yourself with little “toys” of this world. Instead find time to sit, be still, be held, and open your heart to the gifts He wants to give you.