A Quiet Place

Can you see the bench hidden in this picture? During my November trip to Williamsburg, Va I looked through the shrubs and branches and this is what I saw..................

a bench hidden in this beautiful place

I imagined what it must look like in the Springwhen all is in bloom.............
I wondered if anyone ever sat on that bench and
...........dreamed
...........prayed
...........wondered
...........rested
............enjoyed the peace

I longed to sit in this place. However, short of me knocking on the door and asking some complete stranger if I could set on the bench in the backyard, it was not going to happen. So I simply snapped this picture of this quiet place as I walked back to the bus pick up (for those of you wondering there are some people who live in houses around Colonial Williamsburg, I believe this was one such house).

Looking back over this picture reminded me of a book I recently reread parts - A Place of Quiet Rest. It is by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. It has personal reflections of Elisabeth Elliott, Kay Arthur, Vonette Bright and others. The foreword is written by Joni Eareckson Tada - my favorite author. The subtitle reads - Finding Intimacy with God through a daily devotional life. When I originally purchased the book I thought the book cover was beautiful and serene and I liked the title. I didn't notice the subtitle. I was pulled in by wanting rest.

"The Fragrance of Devotion"
"The product of a daily devotional life will bear fruit in our own lives, as we experience an ever-deepening intimacy with the Father. Sadly, many believers never enter into the joys and fullness of this life of oneness with the Father. ..........
Time spent alone with Jesus each day will order our hearts and grant a sense of direction, enabling us to live purposeful, useful lives, directed by the power of the Holy Spirit, rather than being driven by the expectations and demands of others. ............ The fruit of a devotional life will also be manifested in an ordered, peaceful life..................."

As I reflected on these comments (Chapter 12 Cultivating the Garden of the Heart) I will tell you it is evident when I do not have that peace or that order it is often because my priorities are out of sorts. It is because I have been so busy doing ministry I missed that time spent with the Father. Something He continues to teach me is I am to be "directed" not "driven". As I ask myself about what fruit is showing up in my own life because of my daily devotional time with my heavenly Father, I ask you to think about this also!

Do you have a "spot" of quiet rest? Mine is my big green chair, what about you?