Standing Still in His Presence
KC JONES | GUEST For women, “moving” is never the problem. Whether we are moving forward, moving backward, or shuffling sideways in some sort of bizarre-crab walk, we are content to be in motion. Movement means things are happening; we are accomplishing much or at least appearing to do so. Movement also implies that by doing one thing, we are not doing something else. In many ways, it keeps us distracted from other things. Busyness can be a buffer against the pain of living in a broken world because it provides us with something else, anything else, on which to focus so that we don’t have to face the challenges, heartaches, and brokenness we all experience deep in our hearts. Running on Empty Don’t get me wrong: work is not the problem. Work was considered good before the Fall. After God created Adam, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden to work it and keep it” (Gen. 2:15). After He makes Man, God says, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make a helper fit for him” (2:18). Woman is declared “helper” or “Ezer”; a sufficient support for Man. It is the same term used to describe the Holy Spirit in the New Testament, or “Paraclete” in the Greek. God fashioned Woman to be hard-working, capable, and strong. Our problem isn’t that we cannot “manage” all the to-do lists, work tasks, and extra-curriculars we cram into our schedules; it is that we often do not stand still. We don’t stop working. Even when we feel inclined to sit at Jesus’ feet as Mary did, we also feel the pull of a “Martha” mentality when faced with full days. Our constant busyness inevitably leaves us empty. We begin to struggle with disillusionment and doubt. We question what God is doing in our lives. We wonder why we work so hard if it does not make us any happier. We may feel overwhelmed about another schoolyear starting or another project deadline because we know there will just be another transition waiting for us at the end. It can feel like we are running on a proverbial hamster-wheel. Yet, we do have hope. It is an abundant hope, and it is ours for the taking...
