Be Still

I knew it before I even opened my eyes this morning.  As I rolled over in bed, the rest of the world rolled over me.  And kept rolling, and pushing my head back into my pillows, until I groaned. “Ugh, VERTIGO, no,no,no,”

If you have never suffered a vertigo attack, here’s how the first one I ever had went.  I was a new mom, with 2 babies running around the house.  And I was cleaning, just like any normal day, then I bent over to scrub the toilet in the kids bathroom and lost my balance, fell into the toilet, and rolled onto the floor.  There was no getting up, it was like I was on the tilt a whirl and the speed had been left on high, pushing me back, back, back, until there was no movement.  Opening my eyes brought on bouts of nausea, and I was glad I fell near the toilet.  I positioned myself  in the bathroom, in a semi sitting position, and called for the babies, “please go get mommy’s phone, I need to call for some help”.  The phone eventually did get to me, and I called my mother in law to come rescue me from my vicious attacker, this “vertigo”.

My mother in law has had many rounds with vertigo, and assured me that if I just lay still in bed, and don’t move my head, in a day or two I would feel better.

A DAY OR TWO!!!

How could I possibly lay in bed and not move, not do laundry, not change diapers, not clean toilets or mop floors, or keep the kids from destroying the house, for a day or two.  Never mind, there won’t be a house to go back to in a day or two .  Not without me there to “hold down the fort”

At first I thought, “No way, I will just get up and pretend I am OK.  I will get better in a minute, just help me to my feet.”  WOW!  Was I wrong.  Vertigo literally put me on my back, and kept me there for a full 24 hours.  I thought I would never get out of that bed, and to make matters worse, I couldn’t even raise my head to bark orders at my husband without being nauseous.

Here the thing.  While I was out of commission, my husband held down the fort quite well on his own, and I was forced to be still.  Not just quiet, or not just stop moving, but BOTH.  I literally had to BE.  STILL.

Sometimes, especially as a mother of small children, there is absolutely no time for stillness.  Children in their very essence are activity, life, movement, and frenetic energy.  Moms get so caught up in the movement and the constant wailing that needs attention, we have so very few moments to just be still.

Here’s my challenge:  Set your alarm clock for 15 minutes earlier than you need to get up.  When it goes off the next morning, before your children let out their first whine, or screech of the day, hit the snooze.  You now have 15 minutes to be still and think about God, His sacrifice, and how you are going to translate that great gift into a wonderful day.  Try not to fall back asleep!  

I do believe that God knows what is best for us, and although I was ‘inconvenienced’ by my vertigo attack, it did draw me into a closer day with God as a result.  (spent a large amount of time “in my head” that day)   God has plenty to say to us, we just have to slow down and listen. And not just half way, we have to give Him our undivided attention.  If we don’t slow down for Him  by ourselves, He will slow us down.