Spring Break Quiet…
This past week was Mighty Oak Academy’s Spring Break. While the team and students got some much deserved rest, I stayed around to work on some projects that were easier to do with people out of the buildings. Without all the normal activity around it led to a very quiet week, which is exactly what our Spirit needs every once awhile.
Jesus “went away to pray” over 30 times in the Gospels. Before every major event, he withdrew. He withdrew from the crowds, from his disciples, from places; he spent a lot of time alone. That in itself may not seem to be too important, but the fact that the authors who were compiling the narrative of his life thought these moments important enough to include so many is telling. And it was a true quiet he went to, the quiet of the wind, the waves, the birds, creation; no iPhones, no soft worship music, no personal Bible: just quiet. It is a quiet that can be scary for a lot of people, where anxiety, to do lists, and overthinking can take over the silence in a deafening way. But it is important to be able to find that quiet.
In Isaiah there is a theme of judgement upon Israel, but this judgement always leads to Israel, and the nations, being saved. We are told of the ways that the Israelites have walked outside of God’s Will, creating idols, making alliances with nations they shouldn’t, prophesying falsely to tell the people what they want to hear. All these different things and in chapters 30-33 the thing that seems to be their biggest digression from the Will of God is not being quiet. God tells them all they had to do when the chaos of huge empires swirled around them, when the future of their homeland seemed uncertain, when they didn’t feel safe; all they had to do was rest, be quiet, and trust. Those things would be their strength, the actions that would save them.
It seems that being quiet has always been difficult for some to find peace in. But when you find that quiet and fight through the discomfort that can come along the way, then I think it would be much easier for us all to understand why Jesus went to the “lonely places” so often. It is easy to think of God in the powerful moments, but to be able to hear his voice as Elijah in the “gentle whisper” takes practice. It takes intentionally giving yourself silence to hear that whisper, to feel the gentle nudges. There will be times in life when the Spirit yells so loud that it cuts through all the distractions anyways, but a different depth can be found when we give ourselves that quiet space.
I know that our team was ready for the quietness that came with this week. But we also know that the reality for many of our students does not involve quiet. Rather a week off of school for them means a week in loud, chaotic homes where quiet is intentionally avoided. That is why we try to equip our students with skills to find peace and quiet no matter their environment. If Jesus physically withdrew over 30 times, just think of how many times he wanted to but just had to find that quietness in whatever place he was at. Please join us in prayers as our students return from weeks of chaos back to school on Monday.
Ethan
School Snack List!!!
If you are looking for a way to support Mighty Oak Academy and our mission of quality community based education, please consider helping us provide our students with nutritious snacks from our Amazon Wish List, you can order here.
Merriment!!!
Merriment is closed this week due to Spring Break. If you aren’t able to make it within our hours, you can always shop our high dollar items on our website here.
Lent Fish Fry Open!!!
Fish Fry is still open, come celebrate Lent with us!! Come get your fix of fish or churched up tots. Look forward to seeing you for a nice warm meal. We have new and returning menu items for you to try including waffle fries, chicken tenders, and burgers.
If you are interested in volunteering or to find out more information about supplies needed please email: info@lovecityinc.org or call (502) 272-078.