Come and Find a Quiet Center

The most streamed show in the United States last year, with 55.62 billion views, was an Australian cartoon about anthropomorphic dogs called “Bluey.” If you have young kids, like me, I bet you just smiled. There’s a good chance you’ve seen it, and there’s a chance some of you have watched it even when your kid’s not around. One of the reasons the show is popular is because it offers a realistic view of parenting through common predicaments and conflicts. In one episode, Chili, the mother of the six-year-old protagonist for whom the show is named, has just had it. She tells her husband, Bandit, that she just needs 20 minutes and proceeds to close the door to her bedroom. The remainder of the eight minute long episode is Bandit’s efforts to occupy the kids so Chili can recharge. Near the end, Bandit is helped by a mom across the street who fully understands Chili’s need for a break from the stresses of mothering. This contemporary cartoon story is what popped into my mind on Sunday when Geoff shared a story about Susanna Welsey, mother of John Wesely and eighteen (*gulp) other children. When Susanna put her apron over her head, her kids knew to leave her alone! I can’t imagine what it was like raising a huge family in the 18th century (so in that way I suppose I have more in common with a modern day cartoon dog), even so, I empathize with that feeling of needing to find solace. Susanne used her “apron time” to be with God through prayer and scripture. I confess I am not always so faithful. It is easy to seek release from the stresses of daily living by escaping into social media, tv shows, books and games. True rejuvenation and transformation comes from prioritizing time for spiritual practice, prayer, study and reflection. Geoff challenged us to find time for solitude this week. I am here to remind you, and myself, to seek it. Reading or singing the following hymn text, written by Shirley Elena Murray, helps me enter into a still, quiet place. Come and find the quiet center in the crowded life we lead, find the room for hope to enter, find the frame where we are freed: clear the chaos and the clutter, clear our eyes, that we can see all the things that really matter, be at peace, and simply be. Silence is a friend who claims us, cools the heat and slows the pace, God it is who speaks and names us, knows our being, touches base, making space within our thinking, lifting shades to show the sun, raising courage when we’re shrinking, finding scope for faith begun. In the Spirit let us travel, open to each other’s pain, let our loves and fears unravel, celebrate the space we gain: there’s a place for deepest dreaming, there’s a time for heart to care, in the Spirit’s lively scheming there is always room to spare! Elizabeth Virkler Director of Worship, Music and the Arts