In November of last year, I left my job with a clear vision of what I was going to be doing in the days and years to come. I had been accepted at two universities to begin work on my doctorate degree and I was ready to do it, but in the preparatory weeks that followed my resignation, I began to sense God telling me otherwise, specifically, don't do it. After all the time and effort I had put into returning to school for a third time, not to mention the others who had contributed their own time in the form of writing letters of recommendation, I was absolutely flabbergasted that God would ask me to change my plans and not go."What are you doing?" I asked the Lord in exasperation and confusion. I was so certain after all that it was His will that had compelled me to make the decisions I had made, and in addition to that, if I didn't go after this degree I had no idea what I would do instead. "Rest" seemed to be His overwhelming and consistent response, but "I don't know how," I repeated many times through prayer. "Stop," the Lord continued, and to which I responded almost frantically, "stop what!?" "Everything," He finally said. And there it was. God wanted me to stop acting, stop moving, stop questioning, and especially stop talking. He wanted me to just stop everything, especially the constant running I so effortlessly do on the hamster wheel in my head. More directly, He wanted me to simply clear my mind of...well, me, and be with Him here and now in the present.
