Still

So, the twins had an unsettled night, as babies do sometimes. I found myself wheeling out the double buggy around 9 am, so the shattered parents could get a bit of respite (if you can call it that, when an active 2-year-old is still with them, just ready for another energetic day…).

All was calm and quiet. Both babies: pictures of peace. For half an hour, when those elusive burps – or something – started them writhing and squeaking and squirming and stretching and, eventually, crying. A brief pause to pick one up and try to bring relief wasn’t a success, so I turned round and kept pushing for home.

Lullabies didn’t cut it. So I decided to have a bit of worship time myself, hoping they might catch a bit of the peace of Christ. ‘Hide me now, under your wings…’ I sang. ‘I will be still and know you are God’.

One settled. Then the other. I kept singing for the next half hour, headed back, worshiping God and soothing those precious babies.

The beauty of God can be contagious. The peace of God can spread to others when we carry it in ourselves. I could have stressed. I could have picked up speed and hoped they wouldn’t be apoplectic and hysterical when I handed them back to the parents. Instead I settled into a rhythm of my own, focused on God rather than on the babies, and sang.

I’m not suggesting it always works. But this morning, it did. Praise Him.