Q is for Quiet Reflection by Carol Harrison

 

Q is for Quiet Reflection

Exciting moments peppered our train trip across Canada in 2018. We saw new sights, explored new places, and visited far flung family members. Yet I also had times to pause and reflect on the journey, journal my thoughts, and see examples of God’s creation all around.

When I returned home I reread my travel journal and noted so many instances where what I saw reminded me of verses from God’s Word. These had been quiet moments of reflection. I gathered those thoughts and wrote some devotionals and published them in a little book called On Track. I’ll share one on this blog post.

Significant to God

With the artistry of the St.-Anne-du-Beaupre Basilica still fresh in my mind from the day before, I entered the much older and smaller Notre Dame cathedral in historic Quebec City. It sat at the edge of a narrow street, the only building on that corner. It did not have the impressive dimensions of the basilica but still commanded a presence in the old city with its stone spire reaching for the heavens.

A sign on the heavy wooden doors of the sanctuary advised us to enter quietly. As I left the high ceilinged, empty vestibule I stepped into another time. I sat on a wooden pew at the back as a priest offered mass in French for a handful of parishioners against a backdrop of stained-glass windows and gold covered images. The ornate ceiling drew my eyes upward. Images of white fluffy clouds, a light blue sky and accents of gold reminded me of lying on a grassy hillside and staring at the clouds floating overhead.

Lights reflected off a large empty cross and a golden image of Christ ascending to heaven, both overlaid with gold, at the front of the sanctuary. They stood in stark contrast to the low lighting at the back, the dark wooden pews and crimson padded kneeling ledges. I sat in quiet contemplation.

In my travel worn clothes and dusty feet I felt insignificant compared to the craftsmanship displayed in this two hundred plus year old basilica. Scripture verses flashed through my mind. In John 14: 6 Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus who died, rose again and ascended into heaven is the only way to God. I also remembered Jesus talking to the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4. In verse 24 he said “God is Spirit and his worshipers must worship in Spirit and in Truth.”

I gazed once more at the workmanship displayed all around me. I knew all of as human beings are God’s masterpieces. God does not require a fancy place for me to worship. He does not want empty religious rituals.

Ephesians 2: 8-10 (NIV) says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

I enjoyed the spectacular workmanship in Notre Dame even as my thoughts were drawn to God who created us. Verses from His Word reminded me of important truths. He just wants me to sit quietly before Him in awe, in worship and in praise. This keeps my life on track.  I took a moment to bow my head and pray that anyone who entered here would have their eyes and hearts drawn to God and know they are loved.

As I write this blog post, I ask myself if I remember, in the midst of life’s busyness, to pause for those moments of quiet reflection. What do those quiet reflections look like in your life?

Carol Harrison enjoys writing, family history, and reading and would love an old desk to sit

and reflect and write at but realizes those moments of quiet reflection can happen anywhere and at anytime.