By Doug Creamer

For many years I listened to Garrison Keillor on Saturday nights. He had a variety program on the radio that included music, comedy routines, and a story about the people living in a fictitious town. He would always begin his story with, “It’s been a quiet week in Lake Wobegon…”  Then he would proceed to tell a great story about all the happenings in his fictional hometown.

Today as I sit at my computer contemplating the upcoming week, I think it will be a quiet week here at home. We only have one thing listed on the calendar for the week. That wasn’t the case last week. We traveled to Winston on two different days. There were a few other things on the calendar as well. I was glad when the weekend arrived.

The weekend was quiet. I ran a few errands, but other than that it was a nice, quiet weekend at home. After such a hectic holiday season, I rather enjoyed a quiet weekend. I like being active and having something to do; but I also enjoy some quiet times. It’s nice when things are not expected. It’s nice just to be…

I realize that there are always things that need to get done. You have to make food, clean the kitchen, do laundry and go to work. These are the basic routines of life. After having an especially busy week or month it is nice to slow down and catch your breath. While it is good for the body to catch some extra sleep and slow down, it’s also good for the mind and spirit to rest.

I have sensed the Lord’s presence in this recent quietness. Sometimes when He draws close it’s because there is something I need to work on. Thankfully, there wasn’t anything on His agenda. He was quiet, peaceful and present.

While I was walking I thought about the times I felt the presence of God draw close. Naturally, God draws close when He needs to convict us about sin in our lives. God wants us to live a better life not trapped in sin. His grace and mercy help us when we stumble and fall. His love draws us back into a right relationship with Him.

God also draws close to us when we are going through a hard time. When we experience loss of loved ones or when we find ourselves sick or in need of His healing touch God always draws close to us. He is our comforter and our healer. Whether it is our heart or our body that is broken God wants to heal us.

There are times in our lives when God draws close so He can mold us. God’s goal in our relationship is to make us into the image of Jesus. That means that sometimes He needs to bring His refining fire or maybe He needs to trim us back. Nobody likes these experiences but God is molding us to make us stronger. He is preparing us to be more fruitful.

We also know that God draws close when He intends to work through us. God always wants to reach out to others and most of the time He chooses to work through us. So to reach people He will draw close to us to use our hands or our lips. We are His ambassadors to the lost and hurting.

The one thing I don’t think we consider is that sometimes God wants to draw close to us just because He wants to be close to us. He has no agenda or purpose. He, like a loving parent, wants to draw close to His children. He wants to walk with us, talk with us, and just share with us about our day. He wants us to experience His peace, joy and love. He wants us to know that we are accepted and that He is proud of us. Many times we feel bad about ourselves but He doesn’t feel that way. He sees us and He smiles. We are not a burden. He wants us to want to be with Him. No expectation on either side, just being together.

I want to encourage you to think differently about your next quiet day. Maybe God isn’t worried about changing you. He just wants to be with you. That is something to consider…the God who made the whole universe wants to stop and just hang out with you. God wants you to experience His love, peace, joy and total acceptance of you…warts and all. It’s been a quiet couple of days here and to be honest, I hope it continues…

Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041 or doug@dougcreamer.com.