April 12, 2011

Be still …….

Read: Psalm 46:1-11

Last spring the doctor told me I needed to have an MRI. It is not one of my favorite things to do but what could I do? The scan was scheduled and I was slid into the tube. I was trying so hard to be still so the test could be over. A little over halfway the technician said I needed to stop moving. I thought I was being still but I tried harder. The more I concentrated on being still, the more I noticed my breathing. The breathing was the movement they were complaining about. When they asked me again to stop moving, I told them all I was doing was breathing. They said I had to stop or the test would be invalid. I took a breath and tried to hold it but that was a useless plan. Being in the tube was starting to get to me and having to stay there to repeat some series was not what I wanted to hear. I needed this to be over.

 I silently asked, “God how am I supposed to do this and breathe?”  As the technician again threatened to stop the scan again an old hymn popped into my head. I started remembering the words to the hymn and then another and another. Before I realized it, the scan was complete and the technician said the pictures would be clear.

A peace had crept over me as the words to old familiar hymns came to mind. From old Sunday School favorites like Jesus Loves Me to familiar Sunday morning hymns one song after another flowed through my mind. I am sure the verses in my mind were not exactly as written in the hymnal, but they brought a peace and calmness that helped me get through the scan and I thank God for it.

The first part of Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God,” comes to mind as I recall the experience. I needed to remember that God is always present if I just give him a chance to help me. In times of panic and stress it is the old familiar hymns that easily come to mind. The beautiful words that have stayed with me brought me peace.

I survived and life goes on. I continue to be grateful and thank God that He was there that day and helped me through. I try to begin each day with a few minutes of stillness to read a devotion, and chat with God.

Prayer: Dear God, Thank you for being part of my life. I ask you to help me through another day. I thank you for the many adult and child Sunday School teachers and fellow members of the many congregations I have been lucky enough to be part of. I thank you for the hymns on Sunday mornings that allowed me to have the recall to get me through.  Amen

Gretchen Brammer