That year came and went and I moved to St. Louis, but not before my friend and I had made a pact to get tattoos. And a little more than a year after I went skydiving, I crossed another thing off my bucket list last week: I finally got my tattoo.
Be Still.
These words tattooed on my arm remind me of several things. First, I am reminded of Psalm 46, my favorite psalm: "Be still and know that I am God." I preached on this Psalm during my senior chapel at Luther, commenting that in the midst of the storms of life, God is there. Now, even more so than that day in Fall 2011, I think I need that reassurance that God is there if I just listen.
There is an exercise we do at camp sometimes where we repeat this verse, leaving off one word each time.
Be still and know that I am God
Be still and know that I am
Be still and know that I
Be still and know that
Be still and know
Be still and
Be still
Be.
In addition to this reflection on the psalm, my favorite camp song is Peace, Be Still. A simple song of four lines, Peace, Be Still is a constant refrain in my head reminding me to stop, even in spite of the storms.
Peace, be still/peace, be still/the storm rages/peace, be still.
The final reason I love having these words as a part of me is the simple reminder to pause. I'm a social work student who wants to go into political work and the political and social work fields are full of constant energy and non-stop action. Regardless of all the pressures that I face (and will continue to face) on a daily basis, I want the constant reminder to pause. It's so easy to get caught up in the endless to do lists that we often forget to enjoy the current moment. I'm certainly not perfect at this (I had to stop and practice my deep breathing during a recent appointment when I was getting frustrated that things weren't working out as they should) but I'm working on it. This visual on my arm reminds me every day to be still and pause, enjoying the peace that surrounds me, and for that I'm grateful.
