This morning as I sit here at the island in the quiet of the morning, the sound of the washing machine churning and spinning is the music of the moment. I just read my devotions, and the one in Dad’s book was about the word, “reverence.” I don’t hear that term used these days, and that was the focus of the lesson – the loss of reverence in our world, in our spiritual journey.

I Timothy 2:2 says, “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”

And immediately after reading that passage, I was taken back to the days when my parents and my church, The Friends Church, lived out “peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.” Walking in to the sanctuary was a reverent experience, because it was not a social gathering place, but a place to meet the Creator of the world, the Alpha and the Omega, Jehovah Jireh, my Provider. It was expected that when you entered the place of worship, you were quiet and reverent, anticipating His Presence, beginning the act of worship.

One of my fondest memories of childhood is seeing the small adult choir enter from the side of the sanctuary in silence, and then listen to them sing as my Mom directed, “The Lord is In His Holy Temple,” taken from Habakkuk 2:20. They did this every Sunday. It was the way we entered into worship:

The Lord is In His Holy Temple

The Lord is in His holy temple, the Lord is in His holy temple,
Let all the earth keep silent, let all the earth keep silent, before Him.
Keep silent, keep silent, before Him.

The weekend begins today. I am grateful for this lesson to begin my day, a lesson to remind me to be still and know that He is God, a lesson to bring me to reverence and holiness in the quiet of the morning, a lesson to keep the TV off, refrain from turning the radio on in the car, and enjoy the peacefulness and the quiet of His creation for just a little longer, listening for that still, small voice. Reverence…