Full. Stop.

OverwhelmedIt seems like modern life is designed for panic.

You open the paper.  Everyone knows that carbs are like, evil.  But apparently sugar is KILLING you and you ought to halve your intake. Problem is, even if you want to change you can’t because all the sugar is HIDDEN. Fat gives you moobs but a high-protein diet is totally as dangerous as smoking. This leaves fruit and veg: but remember, they’re crawling with pesticides and there’s the whole business of food miles and sustainability.

Plus, STUFF.  The house is full of it. Fliers for pizza and party propaganda.  Plastic bags, paper clips, odd socks and receipts.  Mental lists of things I should have done and things I want to do and emails and appointments and lunches and prescriptions and cat food and phone calls I’ve been putting off and overdue books and bills and brain.

On the TV: a million flickering images of tragedy and beauty products and canned laughter and home insurance.   They’re all bright and they’re all urgent and yet, ask me what I’m watching and I can’t remember. My phone flashes and I catch my breath but before I can reply there’s another message and it’s more important.

Why?

“We want to complexify our lives. We don’t have to, we want to. We wanted to be harried and hassled and busy. Unconsciously, we want the very things we complain about. For if we had leisure, we would look at ourselves and listen to our hearts and see the great gaping hole in our hearts and be terrified, because that hole is so big that nothing but God can fill it. (Peter Kreeft – writing on Pascal)

What’s the answer? Not more labour-saving life-hacks. Not more busyness. Not more leisure. Not more updates. If we want to put an end to the noise we need a Full Stop.

FULL:

God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5:5)

STOP:

We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:1)

And so, we pray:

When my heart is overwhelmed: Lead me to the Rock that is higher than I. (Psalm 61:2)

 

 

7 thoughts on “Full. Stop.

  1. Too hard to turn it all off in our own strength.
    I guess this is why we’re told IN HIM we live and move and have our being. Passed up a “very important” political meeting last night, the e-mail said I really needed to be there, but somehow…

  2. Hi Emma and Caroline! Encouraging post and comment! Hubby and I are starting to recognize how subtly and thoroughly we’re bombarded with conflict-generating messages everyday through media of all kinds: news, ads, entertainment, and STUFF around the house, like you said. So, to make more room for the fullness of God’s love, we’ve been asking for His help in weaning ourselves off the news, talk shows, and–gasp–politics, among other things. Also going through the house, trying to let go of stuff that seems so potentially useful. Even books that seemed so important before, so full of useful information, are going into the donation box. Sometimes I wonder what will be left after so much that I’ve depended on for security is at last jettisoned? I think you nailed it: peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Looking forward to more of that :-).

  3. Read Pascals Pensees. Very insightful on this. We want the noise because stopping and listening to the questions of our hearts terrifies. But he has some great illustrations.

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