Last week at my eye appointment an older couple with a Mastiff “puppy” their service dog in training, shared the waiting room with me. He was kind of the size of a horse and definitely very puppy-ish. The frustrated owner ordered his pup over and over and over in a rather loud voice, settle!

That was the first of four times in the next three days that I heard the word settle. Hmmm, sometimes God speaks with a rather loud voice.

As a verb, one of the definitions of settle is to make quiet or orderly or calm; to come to rest; when speaking of an animal, to impregnate (to create new life). Merriam Webster Dictionary, parentheses mine.

Six years ago I was asking the question, what does it look like to continue to mature spiritually, to bear fruit in old age. (I wasn’t there yet, I just wanted to be prepared.)

A few months ago, the question morphed to, what does stewardship look like at this stage of my life. (Old age was a tad closer – still not there yet.)

Six years ago I was looking for something to fan my spiritual growth. Perhaps seminary; perhaps a spiritual director certificate; perhaps _____? Interesting – God’s answer was not something that was on my radar, God brought his answer to me.

Now there is a different trajectory to my question. God is not leading to another program; I’m thinking stewardship is settling into who God created me to be.

As I’ve been pondering my question, I’ve also been reading Emily P. Freeman’s newest book, The Next Right Thing. (Highly recommended even if you’re not looking for a ‘next’.) This is the second place the word settle popped up. (The other times came in conversations with others.)

“What if your next right thing is to settle in
right where you are
and come back home to yourself?”
p. 192, italics mine

 

Summer is just a week old. Summer is the time Bill and I enjoy many quiet days at our Sanctuary, our small cabin tucked in the Wet Mountains of Colorado.

God’s message to me is Sue, settle. Be where you are. For this summer, listen for my love, don’t ponder the next.

 

For now, stewardship is
settling into the gift of summer,
the gift of white space,
the gift of rest.

I’m reminded of Psalm 32:9, “Be not like a horse or a mule (or an untrained Mastiff puppy), without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you.” Interestingly, God’s word in the previous verse, “I will instruct you and teach you … I will counsel you …”

“Long before he laid down the earth’s foundations,
he had us in mind,
had settled on us as the focus of his love …”
Ephesians 1:4, The Message Translation

Settle is an application of my word for 2019, secure.

Echoes of Grace continues on a semi-sabbatical until fall when I look forward to connecting with you regularly again.