O Lord, my heart is not lifted up,
my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.
But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
my soul is like the weaned child that is with me.
O Israel, hope in the Lord
from this time on and forevermore. Psalm 131
This morning as I sat on the couch, sipping my coffee and reading the news, our cat jumped up into my lap. This is not a particularly noteworthy occurrence. While the rest of my family members all long for the affection of this feline, she subsequently ignores them. I on the other hand generally don't go searching out her affection, and yet she clings to me. Cats.
This morning she leaned her head into my ribs and started to press her front paws into my side in an alternating fashion, a ritual she has with me most mornings. Our family affectionately refers to this as the cat is “making muffins.” Presumably, the thought behind the expression is that her pressing with her front paws is similar to the kneading of dough, but now I'm left wondering as to why we call it making muffins instead of making bread? Yet I digress...
And of course if you know about cats, this behavior is a remnant from when they were kittens, still nursing from their mom. Their kneading paws would press against their momma's tummy as they nursed, what most of us would probably imagine as being a very comforting thing.
I got to thinking about this self-soothing behavior that our cat regularly engages in, and I began to wonder if that might not be a good thing for many of us at this point of time, a little bit of self-soothing.
In the Psalm listed above we read, “I do not occupy myself with things too great or marvelous for me, but I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother.”
Like my cat who regularly calms and quiets her soul next to me, kneading away, what are those practices we can engage in that are self-soothing? Of course, I mean what are the HEALTHY practices we can engage in to quiet and calm our souls? Those things that can quiet us, comfort us, and draw us closer into God's presence, the One in whom we cast our hope?
Spend some time in those things that can calm and quiet you today, and in that quietness, may you experience God's presence and hope.
O Lord, by your grace help us to turn off the noise, even for a brief while. Help us to quiet the cacophony of worry that surrounds us and assails us, and help us to rest in the quiet calmness of your presence, like a weaned child resting upon the breast of her mother. This we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.
- Pastor Andy Bartel