Quiet Moment

Copyrighted by Art4Him Studios - All rights reserved

This painting was my first oil painting on canvas. After doing ALL those birch trees, I didn't know if I ever wanted to paint again or see another birch tree.  Well, as you can see, I didn't stop painting and living in a state, where the White Birch is the state tree, helped me to continue to see the beauty in birch trees. I love them now! I had put the painting up for awhile to take a break from all those trees. My mom encouraged me to finish it (actually, she was very persistent) and made me promise to enter it into one of the fairs being held in the fall. I promised, but was very nervous about entering something I did. The last time I had done that I was really embarrassed. The Lord was so gracious and allowed me to place. He receives the glory. As a Christmas gift that year, I gave the painting to my parents as a way of thanking my mom for encouraging me.
As I was trying to come up with a name for this painting, I would find myself mesmerized by the stillness of the setting. It reminded me of those times when I should be having those quiet moments with my Lord. I could almost feel the coolness of the snow hitting my face but yet at the same time, all I could think of was reflecting on the One who created the snow and the sunset.
How often do we allow the busyness of our lives to crowd out that special time we could have with the Lord. I know that I have allowed other things to occupy and keep me from my special time with Him. How sad! I miss so much when I do that, but gain so much more when I take that time to spend it with Him.
Living in New England, I see it snow a lot and I mean A LOT!!! Most of the time, I have to admit that when I see it coming down, I groan. I don't like to drive in it, nor do I like to shovel it (although, my husband does most of that) and I especially don't like to wear those clumsy boots. I actually don't have any boots, so my feet get cold wearing my cute, as my husband would say, "summer shoes". There are times, though, as I sit in my chair looking out the window, drinking hot chocolate or hot tea, that I find myself watching each little snowflake fall to the ground. Then there are those rare times when I do help with shoveling and marvel at the uniqueness of each individual snowflake. It is kind of relaxing and I start reflecting on the Creator who makes each of those snowflakes so different and unique...just like us.
If God cares so much about making each snowflake different how much more does He care about us. He cares so much, that not only did He provide a way for us to spend eternity with Him, but also to spend time with Him on a daily basis and that is through His Word. In Psalms 131, David talks about coming to the Lord with childlike trust.
Psalms 131 says, "O Lord, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore."  (English Standard Version)
We miss out so much when we don't take that time to spend with Him. There are so many treasures for us to grasp, hold tight and to hide in our hearts. As a mother, I have weaned my children when they were little. It was hard at times as they didn't want to be weaned. There were many nights that I would just rock them in the rocking chair, holding them close to me and sing of God's truths to them as I would calm them down. I cherish those memories as I held my precious child close to me. How much more does our Heavenly Father want to hold us close to Him. Do we want to wait until we are going through a crisis before we spend that time with Him, or are we willing to cherish each "Quiet Moment" with Him now?