Surprised By Stillness

How Derailed Plans Led to a Quiet Epiphany

My Dear Readers,

Before I tell you about last Saturday, I have to share a milestone: I finished writing over 50,000 words on my novel-in-progress, Purgatory, Incorporated! That means I've rewritten every single word I lost last fall—all of it, finally recovered. It felt like crossing a finish line I wasn't sure I'd reach.

So what did I do to celebrate? Well, actually nothing that I expected.

Last Saturday, my plans got rained out and my body was run down—not sick exactly, just depleted. So instead of bustling from chore to errand to appointment, I sat still on the couch with my husband, curled under a cozy blanket with a steaming cup of tea and a good book.

We stayed there all day, alternating between reading, watching the rain, talking, playing games, watching TV, and drawing (my rough sketch of "Ivy Owl" is below). I finally watched two documentaries I'd been meaning to see: one on Irish pirate captain Grace O'Malley, and one on the Galveston Hurricane of 1900. I caught up on novel reading and critiquing for the upcoming Realm Awards—part of the Realm Makers speculative fiction conference in St. Louis, Missouri, that I'm attending June 24-27. And I got to simply hang out with Matt and watch him play through Crimson Desert, a video game we both love.

Part of me wanted to call the day wasted because I wasn't moving. But I recognize that's a lie—one that comes from being conditioned by FOMO to believe that busyness equals productivity.

What I actually missed out on: a lunch at the arboretum, some gardening, aerial yoga, house chores, grocery shopping, and writing. In the moment, each one felt like a small defeat — like I was falling behind on the life I was supposed to be living. But all of it got rescheduled anyway. And what I actually accomplished was far more freeing.

"If the devil can't get you to sin, he'll get you busy."

It's true. Satan loves to distract us with things that feel urgent but quietly undermine our real priorities. With my plans canceled, I had time to simply sit, be still, and remember that God is good, the work He gives me is good, and the blessings He gives me are good. It gave me the clarity to sift through my to-do list and uncover what truly mattered: time well spent resting on a rainy day, in the cozy comfort of a couch gifted by kind neighbors, in the company of the man I love. I call that a true celebration!

In closing, I encourage you to read Psalm 46 (WEB), which felt like the anthem of the day.

If you haven't taken a day lately to cancel everything and just rest, I can't encourage you enough to try it. The to-do list will still be there. The errands will reschedule. But the quiet—the deep, replenishing quiet of a rainy afternoon with nowhere to be except to be present—that's the productive peace you can't manufacture. You have to let it find you.

Hugs,
Alycia Christine

P.S.-What's happening in your quiet time right now? Have any of those quiet moments led to specific clarity? Contact me and tell me! Also, let me know how I can prayer for you this week.

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