By Melanie Kauffman

A few weeks ago, I had to get my car inspected in Doylestown and annoyingly enough, it didn’t pass inspection all because the front bumper cover was loose. This preoccupied my thoughts while I drove out of the dealership parking lot and turned in the opposite direction of home. I wandered around a bit, not really trusting that my GPS was taking me the right way, until finally I decided to pull into a tiny little lot on the edge of a lake to see where I was.

My GPS told me I was going in the right direction, but since I had stopped, I figured I might as well get out and look around. I soon discovered a tiny trail leading down to the water.  So I took a book from my car and sat and read. After that I ended up walking around a bit, the troubles of this world far from my mind. I felt a sort of stillness that I hadn’t felt in a long time, and I felt as if God had orchestrated the entire day so that I would accidentally stumble upon what turned out to be Peace Valley Park. Thinking back on it now, I’m reminded of Psalm 23:2-3: “He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside still waters, he restores my soul.”

In today’s fast-paced society, it can be difficult to quiet ourselves and listen for the whisper of God. We get the idea in our heads that this requires an inconvenient change in our daily schedule – and sometimes it does. Sometimes it means waking up an hour early to read the word, or setting time aside before bed to spend in mindful prayer. But sometimes it’s as simple as taking an hour out of your day to take a walk in the nearby park, or sit in your backyard and hear the birds chirping and feel the wind in your hair. The next time the world around me gets too overwhelming, I’ll seek out that little corner of Peace Valley Park and I will quiet my heart beside the still water.