settle

Sage advice was never truer spoken than when someone told me not to settle for less than the best. And then someone people simple said don't settle, stay wild and free, forever young at heart. Well, I heeded that advice and still do to this day. Still, our insides, our will and emotions, they can't toss and turn like leaves in the wind, they must settle somewhere and be a foundation, then the rest of our makeup can frolic at will.

We can find a lack of peace in our lives a lot of the time: things still flare up, mind you. I guess I would equate it to a an explosion that causes the dirt and rocks to heave upwards. But when they fall back down, they settle back onto the ground and remain where they belong. Still, since winds, explosions, and the elements will always rock the surface, we must be settled somewhere deeper than the surface or in shallow proverbial waters.

The other week I was feeling a myriad of strange feelings. There were conflicts to resolve, reactions to circumstances, being tired due to lack of sleep (it was a busy week), and just general day-to-day stuff that was causing me to scratch my head a little more than usual. When a friend and mentor randomly asked me how I was feeling, only one word came to mind: unsettled. Being able to give my affliction a name, I was able to seek out poignant and relative truths in Scripture that spoke to my unsettled feelings and reminded me that I do have a heart that is settled in truth and capable of withstanding the tempest.

I like to think of it like a seashell on the bottom of the ocean floor. There is rests, an indention in the sand outlining the spot that seashell lies upon. Hundreds or thousands of feet above are tumultuous winds, waves, storms, and currents that are a strong tide through the sea. And yet, the seashell has deeply embedded itself within the depths of the ocean and remains unaffected and unmoved. So brittle and fragile is that seashell, but it is made sturdy in its settlement: deep within the arms of safety.