Quieting my heart

I just read this phrase and it stuck to me like glue. Quieting my heart. Yes, I need more of that in my life.  My life is busy, I'm busy, my kids are busy. We don't practice a lot of quiet here.  Three boys and a girl trying to keep up with the boys has made me honour their high activity, but I wonder if I've leaned too far that way. I've been thinking a lot lately about the concept of a Sabbath.  A weekly rest, a true rest.  Over the past years we've used the Sabbath as a rest from weekly chores and work, so that we can spend time as a family. But more often than not we are biking or walking or dancing or generally being active as we usually are.

Other than Colin, I'm not sure my children really know how to quiet their hearts.  How to meditate, or read or colour or write or rest. How to withdraw from the noise and bustle and fill the need to listen to their hearts, their minds, their spirits, God's voice.  But even Colin and I, as introverts, may not be truly quieting our hearts when we withdraw from the rest of our social family members.  We may just be filling our heads with more noise.

I think I'll ponder a little more on this idea.  I've heard that you can start with as little as five minutes at a time on a Sunday afternoon.  Maybe find a quiet spot in the house, encourage them to read or write and maybe daydream a little.  Or maybe we can even combine it with a hike. My favourite place to rest is among the trees or by the lake and under the blue sky.  Now that the Canadian winter has (finally!) melted away, maybe a Sunday walk is in order?

Maybe I'll have to quiet my own heart to feel where my family needs to be on this.