Seamless Lives of Faith | Psalm 46:10
CJ McDowell ‘25
“Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
The high school fall retreat with the youth group this past weekend revealed to me that life is a lot like white water rafting. There are so many lessons to choose from - such as, you have to trust and work together with the people in your raft. Or, that picking the right guide can make the difference between a fall-free trip and a free-fall. But the cadence of rafting is what I found particularly interesting. While there are times you’re paddling just to stay alive and straining as best you can to hear the guide’s commands over the roar of the water, there are also long stretches of stillness that can feel almost jarring after the rapids’ intensity. It is tempting, after the excitement of riding the waves, to enjoy the stretches of calm water only for as long as it takes to catch your breath and then sit in boredom and anticipation for the next bout of action. But calm-water moments are for more than just catching your breath; it is during these times that you are able to look around and behold the beauty of the mountains around you and the majesty of the One who designed them.
From youth group at the start of the week to Seminary at the end, they keep us pretty busy with the Fellows Program. Most of the week can feel like those exciting rapids, but when we do get the moments of unscheduled time it can be tempting to take only a couple breaths before finding the next going and doing thing to go and do. But I have to ask myself, am I taking the time to behold?
As Fellows, we have the pleasure of serving as small group leaders in the youth ministry at TFCA, and one of the youth ministry’s core values is “Behold.” Beholding implies slowing down, stopping, and quieting your heart to simply take in the majesty. This week the fellows learned in our seminary lecture from Dr. Scott Redd that while the primary way to learn about God is of course through the Word, attributes of God can also be revealed through nature and experiences. We can behold attributes of God by admiring the direct work of His hands through beauty in nature, as some of the fellows did this weekend in the West Virginia mountains, or by admiring the creative works of people who are made in God’s image, as some fellows did this weekend at the National Gallery. During Seminar, Rev. Isaiah Brooms talked about balancing all the different aspects of our lives, including the spiritual, physical, social, emotional, etc. and that you cannot overcompensate for one area by overpouring into another. His acronym for these areas of our lives, SIP and SEE, implies the importance of both fueling and resting in each of these areas, a time of sipping, and a time of sitting back and just looking. As we continue on our journey in learning what it means to live seamless lives of faith, we are learning to take those still moments, from gazing at the stars to admiring artwork, to behold beauty and reflect on the goodness of God. Resting is not just about self-recovery, it is also about making space to behold and worship the Lord.