Ahhh yes, nothing to do but relax. Take it easy, kick back, and do nothing…
We had booked some time away in March at a very cool and quaint resort on Vancouver Island called Yellow Point Lodge. Anne’s family has had a special connection with this property for 3 generations. Anne loves the fact that this extraordinary place is steeped in family history.
We rented one of their little cabins nestled amidst the arbutus trees on a cliff over-looking the ocean. When I say “little” I mean a tiny bathroom, couch and comfy chair, bed and wood stove and that’s it. Perfect for doing nothing but reading, writing and napping. Which Anne was quite pleased with, but me, I don’t do well with “nothing”.
How do you “do” nothing?
On rainy days we sat inside drinking in the glorious display of God’s creation right outside our front window, as we warmed ourselves in the slightly smoky heat of the wood stove. On sunny says we explored the vast property walking its nature trails meandering throughout the immense temperate West Coast rain forest. We also strolled along the amazingly sculpted sandstone shoreline, and brilliantly white crushed shell beaches that rim the oceanside of the property.
On one sunny afternoon I wandered out to a lunarscape-esque sandstone point around the bay from our cabin. I sat there relaxing as best I could, simply gazing out at the ocean and the gulf islands archipelago east of the property, while trying to still myself to listen to the Lord.
All the while I say gazing and stilling myself it felt like my inner engine was idling at high RPMs. I was itching to move, to explore, to discover, to move on – to “do”. I had to fight the urge to move on. Yes, I wanted to be still and listen to the Lord, to commune silently with Him, but it was proving to be more difficult than I thought.
I was about to move one when I felt the Lord simply whisper,
“Linger longer.”
Ok, I can do that. So I stayed and asked the Lord what He wanted to say to me. “What do you want to show me Lord?” I gazed out to sea secretly hoping the Lord might put on an amazing killer whale show of some kind.
Nope. Nothing special…
Well, nothing special except, of course, for the spectacularly glorious beauty of God’s West Coast creation, the awesome nature of the sun’s rays that were warming my skin and the fact that I am beloved by my Heavenly Father who made all this to demonstrate His love and incredible power and creativity. Not to mention what Jesus has done to adopt me into the family of God and set me free to experience the life, freedom, hope, love and relationship I was created for before mankind fell into the bondage of sin and death.
No, nothing too special about this little time with my Father amidst His creation.
Are you kidding me?! The whole scenario is awesome and amazing if only I have the eyes to see it. I need to learn to “gaze” deeper into what surrounds me. I think the more we look, the more we will see. I think the more we learn gaze into the glory of God, the more we will discover Him.
If we will choose to Linger Longer we will deepen our relationship with God. I am learning to remind myself to Linger Longer when I find myself wanting to move on to some sort of activity when I have chosen to stop and be still.
Why Linger Longer? Am I hoping God will do something amazing to transform my life into the next stage of awesome? Or, am I simply hoping to somehow connect with my Father in a holy moment, to somehow gaze on the beauty of the Lord – to seek Him.
“Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.”
May we be men, like King David, who know how to Linger Longer and gaze on the beauty of the Lord.
Psalm 27:4, 8
“One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. My heart says of you, ‘Seek his face!’ Your face, Lord, I will seek.”
Psalm 84:10
“Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.”
Psalm 63:1
“You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.”