Shallows, Midlands + Depths

Here in the Shallows, my mind won’t be still. There is so much commotion. Pushing and pulling, demanding and assuming. It’s the noisiest of places, news and fears, propaganda and debts. Life’s swirling, life’s toiling, life’s gentle unfurling. It’s a place where I am numbed to all kinds of heart truths, to the depths, to the pains, to my shadows and to You. 

I crave stillness, the quiet! 

For so long, I lived thinking only shallows existed. Tirelessly toiling, serving the noise, hoping to ‘master’, or at least hold my poise. But now it seems I have been gently awoken; after all the years, a soft invitation was spoken. A calling from those out a little yonder, some who have ventured out of the shallows, those who sought what existed a little deeper a’yonder. As I start wading, the water and call begin to arise, surpassing the noise of it all.  

A soul invitation begins to emerge, ‘descend’, it is time to dive deeper in; there are truths beyond the shallows, take courage, come in. 

The Midlands. I arrive at a new depth, a little less clatter, but now what I feel is the weight of what matters. My heart is awoken by the burdens I carry. Heavy loads for loved ones, the suffering, heartaches and it’s here I feel sorrow and pain will marry. I fear I will drown under the weight of it all.  Grief, no wonder I wanted to stay in the noise of the shallows. The Midlands is an unanchored place, I can’t touch the floor, sinking. I feel the shallows calling me back to its safety, and as I start to emerge, I recall all that terrible noise. Now, I don’t know which way I should turn; to emerge to the shallows or choose to feel all of those heavy emotions I never wanted to feel… No, I want to go deeper, so I hold myself still.
In the Midlands, I know I am seeing myself like never before; there is a raw honesty and truth here, and strangely, I find that it is those things I now want to explore. Here I recall the voices of some who had waded before; their wisdom for the Midlands was that I will need to ‘give everyone and everything’ over to Him. So I do; I lean in to surrender…
“I give everyone and everything to you, Lord; I give everyone and everything to you”…The Midlands is the place where I am called to give all things over to His Saving Grace.

And as simple as that, as I release and let go I find myself descending. Deeper, down to the Depths, I now willingly go! Deeper, deeper, deeper within, until the softest of sweetness wells up within. A Presence takes over my whole soul, a peace like no other; here in this perfect stillness, my soul finds its Lover. This is where my soul should abide. Here is the secret place, the hidden place, the place I have known I was created to find. A place full of beauty and treasure, all that I had longed for but the shallows and midlands had kept undercover. 

In stillness and silence, I now daily make this descent, from Shallows to Midlands, and sometimes back to the surface again, but even in that back-and-forth dance, I simply acknowledge the shallows and then descend yet again; I acknowledge the Midlands and call on Your Grace yet again. Now, I know the road, the reason for this holy of descents; it leads me slowly back to Your presence, Your Face, time and time over again. xx