“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.” - Psalm 19:1 NIV
My human and me found ourselves sitting on an old wooden bench down by the water the other evening.
Well… he was sitting.
I was mostly sprawled out underneath it with one ear twitching toward a duck and the other listening to the frogs tune up for choir practice.
Now I’m not much for benches myself.
They’re hard, smell like old fishing bait and usually mean my human plans on staying there longer than I think necessary.
But this evening felt different.
The sun was settling down beneath the trees, painting the water orange and gold like God Himself had dipped His paintbrush into it.
The breeze carried the smell of pine trees, muddy banks and somebody grilling hamburgers way off in the distance.
Honestly, it smelled like peace.
My human didn’t say much.
Didn’t scroll.
Didn’t hurry.
Didn’t fuss about work, bills or all the “junk” folks carry around these days.
He just sat there quietly looking across the water.
So I did too.
And somewhere between the crickets chirping and the water softly tapping against the bank, I noticed something.
Humans spend an awful lot of time running.
They run to work.
Run to meetings.
Run to stores.
Run from problems.
Run after things they think matter.
But God seems to show up best when folks finally stop running long enough to notice Him.
Dogs are pretty good at that part.
We can stare at water for an hour and call it productive.
We can sit beside somebody we love and think absolutely nothing except, “This here is enough.”
That bench reminded me that maybe drawing near to God isn’t always about big sermons, long prayers or complicated plans.
Sometimes it’s just sitting quietly in His creation long enough for your soul to catch up with your body.
The water kept moving, steady and calm.
The birds kept singing.
The sky slowly faded into dusk.
And the whole time, God was whispering through every bit of it:
“I’m still here.”
I think that’s what my human needed most that evening.
To be still… knowing God was there in that moment.
Then he quoted Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God.”
Not “be busy.”
Not “be louder.”
Not “be stressed.”
Still
Truth be told, probably what I needed too.
Sometimes the holiest thing a person can do is sit still on an old bench beside the water with a grateful heart… and listen.
Listen to God speak to his heart.
Luke 5:16 says, “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”
Even Jesus stepped away from crowds to pray and spend quiet time with His Father.
And if the Son of God needed quiet moments with the Father, maybe we do too.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I heard that duck again.
And unlike humans, ducks absolutely cannot be trusted.
Keep the Faith… Carpe Diem
