A Quiet Heart

So - have you ever heard of the word 'disquiet'. I hadn't until yesterday and Jimmy just randomly asked me if I'd heard it. We looked it up and the definition is "lack of calm, peace, or ease; anxiety; uneasiness." I realized there have been a few times (ok - maybe a lot of times in the past few weeks) that my heart has felt disquiet. Not the best feeling. So that conversation got my mind thinking about Patricia Holland's book "A Quiet Heart." Here is a quote I like from it (sorry for the length):
"In dark and dangerous days, God will provide for us safe places, even wilderness places where he protects us against evil and nourishes us with strength. Please allow yourself to take the time to go to that wilderness retreat now, that sanctuary, if you will - the temple, your own home, a place of privacy and revelation, a place filled with prayer and meditation and scriptural truth.

"Allow yourself to turn a few things down and turn a few things off. Seek to position yourself prayerfully in some solitude and serenity to receive the mind of God. Stop what you are frantically doing and go into your private wilderness. Shut the door, turn out all earthly lights, set aside all earthly sights. Position yourself calmly and quietly in humble serenity until your prayer flows naturally and lovingly. When you feel God's presence, when you feel he is with you, you will be filled with a wonderful strength that will allow you to do anything in righteousness.

"Thus filled and strengthened, we can return to the battle, to some inevitable noise and commotion and, yes, even some drudgery. But we do it more happily, more hopefully, more optimistically because we have communed with God and been filled with his joy, his charity, and his compassion, and we bear something of his light as we return. And because we are filled and strong, we can be a source of light, life, and love for others."

Doesn't that idea sound a million times more comforting that the word 'disquiet'? This really is a peaceful and uplifting book. Here's another poem I love from it.