On Being Still...and Mother Teresa

"We need to find God.

He cannot be found in noise

and restlessness.

God is the friend of silence.

Nature...

(trees

flowers

and grass)...

grows in silence.

The stars

the moon

and sun

move in silence.

We need silence

to touch souls." - Mother Teresa

"Be still, and know that I am God" (Psalms 46:10).

This is one of my favorite scriptures, but I am not always good at it. I like Mother Teresa's images, because there is much to be learned from the forces of nature that surround us. When Christ quieted the wind and sea to calm His frightened disciples, He used the words, "Peace, be still." The sea quieted, and so did the winds. The sea and the wind know how to be still, and I am trying to follow their lead. These elements immediately obeyed the Savior's calming voice, yet His disciples did not. (Apparently, I am not the only one who has trouble with this!) Instead, these good men still "feared exceedingly." "What manner of man is this?" they wondered (Mark 4:41). Christ's disciples missed out on the peace that was offered so simply by listening to their minds instead of their hearts, intellectualizing about what had taken place rather than being still enough to know who God is and remember what He is capable of doing. The lesson here is that understanding life isn't always necessary. Sometimes all we need to do is believe, have faith, and be still.

When I think of these things, my husband's favorite scripture holds new meaning for me. "The earth rolls upon her wings, and the sun giveth his light by day, and the moon giveth her light by night, and the stars also give their light, as they roll upon their wings in their glory, in the midst of the power of God" (D&C 88:45). Sometimes, in my stillness, I can feel this majesty and symmetry in my own life.

And it is good.