Quiet Times (Joe Widick)

Here are more of Joe's thoughts while I am in China.

The last week of April was a week filled with relaxation and time together. It was vacation week for the Widick household. Elaine and I didn’t go very far. We went to the big bustling town of Ten Mile, Tennessee. You would have to really want to see us to find us. On one day of our vacation we went to Kingston to see the sights. In Kingston there is Bethel Cemetery. One of the claims to fame of the cemetery is the fact that there is a soldier buried there from every war that America has fought in. This is from the American Revolution through Desert Storm. The cemetery is on a hillside overlooking Watts Bar Lake. As we strolled through the cemetery one can not help but think of the lives of those buried there. Some had lived long lives while others had been on this earth for a short time. One wonders about contributions that were made by the lives of those there as well as the impact they had on their family. Did they laugh often, enjoy time with loved ones? Did they live lonely lives, or was their life filled with people whom they loved? I find thoughts like that intriguing, because each marker that is in the cemetery represents some type of life.

What type of relationship did they have with the Lord? Did they know the Lord, love Him and worship Him? Was their life better because they decided to live for Him? If they could do it all over again what would they change about their relationship with the Lord? Question after question comes to mind. Then I find myself asking the same questions about my life. Do I take time to strengthen my relationship with the Lord. Is He first in my life, being the most important part of my existence? Do I show others by the type of life that I live that I truly love the Lord and know that he has richly blessed my life. In Mark 6:31 Jesus told his disciples “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” Maybe that is what I need to do from time to time. Just slow down, rest, think, meditate on those things that are really important. Ask the Lord in those quiet times to come into my life and strengthen me and encourage me in my walk with the Lord.
Vacations, quiet times, times of meditation become more and more important in our busy world. I encourage each of us to find those quiet times in our life and spend it in reflection about what is really important.