I turn forty in a few months. I type that shaking my head, with eyes wide. Wow. How did that happen? Every birthday after I turned twenty-five has come with a slice of cake and a side of anxiety. Nothing stops aging. No amount of Botox, eye cream, or dieting stops the inevitable process.
My arm skin is wiggly, my eyebrows wonky, and my face is starting to sag. My teeth are moving, and I reach for the railing when I go downstairs. Aging is weird, and no one really talks about it. People talk about how to stop aging or how to reverse the process. I live with a constant state of low-grade anxiety about growing older, buy the magical face cream at Target, and secretly dread July 14th. Happiness is something I’ve always been afraid of. True, deep-down, all-out excitement actually scares me. Letting my heart fully experience the moment is something I resist. I’m reluctant to enjoy the moment because I know I can’t keep it. It’s so fleeting. Life is moving like a bullet train. I can’t do anything to slow it down. I’m afraid of death. I’m afraid of pain. I’m afraid of dying alone, in panic, gasping for air. I’m afraid of leaving my loved ones behind and the unknowns of the afterlife. I’m scared of squandering my life. These are big, gaping black holes I don’t know how to deal with.
It’s an anxiety that makes me want to avoid anything aging-related. But I let the tension fill my lungs. I stay with my fears without tucking them under my to-do list or behind busyness. I whisper prayers to Jesus. Death is scary. Terrifying, really. I don’t know how I will die; I just know that I will. I have to live in the vulnerable trust that God will continue to carry me into eternity the way He has carried me since birth.
Fear might tag along with me all the way till the end, but I don’t want it to stop me from being alive. I want to savor life without the constant fear of it slipping away. The only way I can combat my anxiety is with gratitude. It’s the pathway from knowing God is with me to experiencing peace in my soul that He actually is with me. It’s the only way. So, I breathe in deep, breathe out slowly, heart open, and give thanks.
I give thanks for the sweet smell of my afternoon tea. I relish the spice-infused flavors, warmth, and jump-start it gives my body to keep going. I thank God for the twinkle lights like touchable stars above our backyard table. Elbows knocking, children chattering, the salty taste of corn fresh from the grill, and devoured watermelon leaving behind life-sized smiles all burst my heart open in praise. I savor. I give thanks. I applaud the Maker of the universe for making moments just like these.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
I don’t want my fear to be a deterrent from all that this moment holds. So I’m going to bake cookies even when I have a tendency to burn them and buy pretty paper and write long letters to faraway friends. I will experience life through movement and soul-gasping beauty and sounds that make me actually feel something. I’m going to enjoy creation, believing that God is enthusiastically making the world go around and around for the mere delight of directing His own cinema for people to watch with awe, excitement, and wonder. I’m going to make eye contact with myself in the mirror and give thanks for another day at life. I’m growing older and into a more beautiful version of myself. I’m becoming who I’ve always been meant to be. I am so much more faithful, brave, and forgiving. I’m so much more kind, gracious, and whole.
I’ve always looked at growing older with doom, but in reality, it is my destiny. Growing old is the goal. The goal for me is to give this one life I’ve been given everything I’ve got. It is to leave a legacy of love. I’ll point to the later years of my life and fall forward. I will savor it and be savored in it. I’ll turn forty and be the one singing loudest, taking every moment in. I’m certain I’ll still be afraid, but no matter what, I’ll be saying “thank you” over and over. I’ll say it until I lose my voice. I’ll say it until my skin is translucent and my legs shake. I’ll say it with every passing year and up to my dying breath. Breathe in: Savor. Breathe out: Thank you.
Stay is a tender call to enter, to open, and to experience the echoing darkness buried beneath piles of mail and laundry and years of pain. This is a call to follow the fears and frustration to the unknown, frightening places inside. This is an invitation to let Jesus pull out a chair at the table of your soul and hear Him say, “Stay, you and your heart sit down.” Stay is about how Anjuli learned to become a little girl again, asking a big God if He could stay with someone small like her.
What a timely message to hear! We’re excited to celebrate the upcoming release of Stay on March 31. Preorder Stay on Amazon, and to add to the fun, we’re giving away FIVE copies of Stay today!
Tell us what the word stay means to you in the comments below for your chance to win!
**Giveaway closes on 3/30/2020. Winners will be notified via email.
[bctt tweet=”Gratitude is the pathway from knowing God is with me to experiencing peace in my soul that He actually is with me. #staybook -Anjuli Paschall:” username=”incourage”]
Leave a Comment
Anjuli,
What a beautiful and transparent post. When I think of “stay,” I think of the God who stays with me. When everyone else runs the other direction, He is the One who stays and remains faithfully by my side. I, too, have an anxiety disorder and it has caused others to take the exit away from my life. It is what sent me running, no racing, toward my heavenly Father’s lap. He didn’t make it all go away, but He calms my fears and anxious heart. Medicine helps too and that’s okay. I know that in order to do life, I need to abide in Him – to utterly rely and depend upon Him. I need to be still and wait expectantly for what He will perform through me. And, yes, the dark days lead me to an outpouring of gratitude for the good days and glimpse-of-heaven moments that He bestows upon me. Gratitude is the great equalizer for anxiety. I recently had a new portrait photo taken and the lines around my eyes and forehead have deepened, but they tell of a life that has much to cry about, but also much to smile about. The lines tell the story. Great reminder this am! Congrats’ on the release of your new book!
Blessings,
Bev xx
When I think of “stay,” I see myself seated at His table of grace.
““Stay, in the situation of what is going on with our community, state and indeed globally allow us to go to the awesome and grace of the shepherd. The sheep hear the voice of their shepherd. He calms us. and gives us “Stay,” God tells us, ” I am with You and will never leave You.” We have the wonderful agreement with one another in His Word. We can encourage one another through the internet, via phones and snail mail – encouraging In Jesus name. “Stay,” is Jesus. He will neve leave us. That is the grace and that is the “Stay”.
Dear Anjuly, I love your writings. They are filled with lively message to my heart. When I turned 40 I didn’t feel the anxiety about age, perhaps because I was starting a new life after a dramatic divorce and establishing residence in another country. I’m Brazilian and grandma of five grandchildren, two of them I’m raising them. Today at 64 I really feel the pain of getting older. Thank you for sharing your soul and giving me thoughts to meditate on. Hugs, stay safe on this scary time we are living.
Beautiful, just beautiful. God has certainly gifted you with the beauty of turning words into pictures (watermelon smiles, love it). When I think of “stay” I picture myself at the feet of Jesus as His teachings pour out the love of God into my heart and soul.
“Stay.” We may try to say that to someone, to time, to a treasured moment……but our wishing for those moments to remain just vanishes. Only a well trained pet might “stay” on command. Life won’t stay at our beck and call. This realization of fleeting minutes and no grabbing that time back should help us to be in a state of gratitude daily, hourly, and moment to moment. “Thank you!” “I appreciate you!” “You matter to me!” “I love you!”, these words need to come easily and be expressed. Those words and many more of gratitude are our way of saying “Stay,” to the precious moments of our lives.
Anjuli,
What a beautiful post. Thank you for sharing. I remember turning 40 years also, not so long ago. I wish I was prepared for it as much as I dreaded it. It catapaulted me into another decade which became the most turbulent yet transformative years of my life when I learned how to rest in God. So ‘stay’ means ‘rest’ to me. It is that state where you lean in and exhale because you know you are in a place designed for rejuvenation, reflection, and restoration.
Contentment
After reading this, I feel that I have a “sister of the soul.” You have described all of my feelings and emotions about aging and dying. By the way, I am 30+ years older than you, so I am definitely getting closer to the end. For me, “stay” means to “BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.” It means to take time to remember that He is always with us, that His plans are greater than our plans, and that I must trust in Him. And while it is important to “stay” in this stillness, it is also important to live my life as He wants – “living our life abundantly” – not with material possessions, but with living out His will to help others, to see beauty and to be grateful for each moment. Thank you for your thoughts today.
Gratitude is not always on the top of my list – well, frequently isn’t tells the bitter truth. It’s something more like on a to-do list than a natural act of kindness. Please, send this to me as a push to move me forward to acknowledging the gifts I already have. Every. Single. Day.
Anjuli, I’m over twice your “forty”. I’m still looking forward to “staying”. … staying faithful in the Word, staying quiet and listening for God’s quiet whisper, staying obedient, but NOT staying stagnant in my growth —pressing onward toward the goal for the prize of the upward call in Christ Jesus. I have as many days as He has ordained to be His created workwoman and I want to stay here as long as I can do His work, being thankful for every day! Thank you for your inspirational words!
Love this♡
Congratulations on your book release.
For me “Stay” means no more running. No more running from love, no more running from friends, no more running from life, no more running from God.
Having been abandoned at a young age has been a challenge as an adult. Without getting into too many details my trust issues became my best and worst enemy. How can a loving God let bad things happen to innocent children? That was always my question.
Life continued. I grew up, and actually had an amazing journey from being born behind the iron curtain in Berlin, Germany to America on a boat. It’s too involved to go into.
Here’s what I’ve learned . Seven years ago I was baptized. I’ve searched my life (I’m 72) for answers about the meaning of life. What I realized is God has always been there. Always. I just didn’t see it because life was very difficult. Imagine as a little child having no safe lap to go to. But God was there. He’s always taken care of me. He is my father. He is my only father I’ve known. He put amazing people into my life. Today I have an incredible husband and family. I’m finally learning to let people love me. I’ve always been afraid to get too close for fear of being abandoned.
To me stay means…I’m staying! No more running! Close to God. Close to love.
Sorry this is so long.
Thanks for sharing!
I am in awe! I was literally just journaling about how instead of running from my fears that I needed to just sit, hand them over to God, and then let them tag along like a harmless shadow. A shadow can’t hurt you. For too long I have allowed my fear of death and pain to prevent me from fully enjoying my life. I continued to feed that fear instead of starving it by focusing on the gifts that God has blessed me with. Thank you for this article!
To me the word “stay” means to stop running. I picture myself feeling overwhelmed by fear and starting to run away when Jesus reaches out and grabs my hand. I look back with tears in my eyes to see him looking at me with such a peaceful and tender expression. He gently taps his lap like a father might do to their child. I crawl into his lap and hold onto him for dear life. To stay means to stay with Jesus, with God, and facing your fears with him by your side. It’s allowing him to dry your tears and carry you. “Perfect love casts out fear,” and that love can be felt when we choose to stay awhile with Him.
Hi
I love this idea of Jesus inviting us to pull out a chair at the table of our souls and hear Him say, “Stay, you and your heart sit down.”
STAY for me now (after many months of counselling) means not running away from my anxieties but turning around to face them knowing that God is bigger than my biggest fear!
Bless you
Jacqui xo
“STAY” is planting our feet in this moment today as we open our hearts to the loving voice of Jesus Christ as he instructs our footsteps. “STAY” is accepting the stage of life because this is where God says “stay.” “STAY” is being okay with my 66 year old body that my 96 years young dear mother failed to mention. I’m looking forward to reading “STAY.”
Congratulations on the release of your new book! What a wonderful post. When I think of stay, I think of commitment. The commitment of our Heavenly Father to us and/or our commitment to Him and others…. especially when things get hard.
Stay … oh my goodness … this is so relatable. To stay is to embrace yourself, to pause, to be in the moment a bit longer each time … so that peace becomes the center where happiness and joy shine through your eyes, energy, heart and voice. And the mind is quieted with beauty and laughter and the certainty that hope does not disappoint. Thank you for sharing your journey. It is timely and will help so many.
To me “stay” means to rest in the promise of His word.
Blessings of peace,
Juanita
Stay means to be “be present.” Linger, just a little longer when my kids tell me the loooongest story they know, hold my husband a few extra seconds. Say more than just “thank you” when someone does a good deed. Go the extra mile.
“Stay,” to me is to Dwell. Constantly seeking His love, comfort, and protection in all circumstances. He will always protect those who want to know Him better. We can live in peace, serenity, and security because of His assurance that they will be protected.
Thank you for these words of encouragement! Stay is to me being with my God and Him staying with me, He is the only one Who always stays when it seems no one else does and I must make the choice to stay, abide, be still before Him to experience the fullness of His presencd, Be still and know that I am God!! PS 46:10
Wow, this is an appropriate message for me today. I’ve been telling myself after many job changes over the last eight years since my divorce, that I need to stay in the ministry job I find myself in {going on my third year as of August and that is a record for jobs here in Tennessee}. I’ve told myself to stay and build roots in this community now that I’ve moved back and been here almost three years. I got so used to having to pivot as they say when something went wrong in a job or having to step away because of trauma. But now life had gone back to normal until all of this, although I’m not real sure what normal is anymore in all honesty. So I’m finally plugged into a community that now uses Zoom to finish out our lessons since September. It’s just staying for the messy and still being there. I’m in a new church home as of the past year and walking through loss with a church family when your dad isn’t the pastor is quite different. I always said mom and dad have this. I now feel a responsibility to be there for those hurting in my church family. Needless to say, I am really interested in this book! Thanks for another wonderful opportunity to win. I was buried in emails last week after a busier week than usual at work and I am slowly crawling out. I’ve missed the hope the {in}courage community gives on a daily basis.
Loved. Someone wants me near.
Beautiful and profound words to take to heart this morning. Congratulations on your new book and thank you for the chance to win a copy!!
STAY to me means to be present, to pay attention and to really be involved in the moment! This should be reflected in all areas of our life——With God, family and friends! Blessings to you.
Thank you for your beautiful, raw honest, encouraging posting this morning m’am!
To me STAY brings a song to my lips- an old 50’s tune that I rediscovered as a teen watching Patrick Swayze dance…a yearning belted out in music to my spatula microphone this morning as I flip scrambled eggs onto slightly burned toast for my hungry, quarantined family.
I’m honestly grateful for every moment of this brave new normal that changes daily even though my gratitude is wrought solely through the Joy of my God as galvanized strength -with a practice that I’ve tended to over the years and can now lean into during this unwanted valley season of Safer at Homeness. Trying to embrace aging was a glorious self care moment for this mamma during my devo time before everyone woke up- I see you and I thank you!
Anjuli,
Stay. How appropriate. When all we seem to do is rush here and there. We’re in a time now where we don’t have a choice but to stay. But that doesn’t mean give up what we have outside of our homes. Our friends and family. Thankfully we have the ability to reach out in many ways in this digital age. However, more important than reaching out to our friends is the realization that we have so much more time (no rushing right now) to stay with Jesus. How difficult that is in the normalcy of our everyday life. But now, we have to stop. We have to rest. We have to stay. How thankful I am for that right now. I miss my life outside of these walls but I’m reconnecting with quietness, with being still, with Jesus. While that definition of stay is a little different from what you presented above, it can be the same as well. I can stay with Jesus in the quiet of the house before the kids get up. I can stay with Jesus through my open Bible and online groups. I can stay with Jesus in thankfulness for the things I had forgotten about because I had been too busy. And through all of my staying, He has never left me. He stayed.
Anjuli,
I love your post, I have fought these thoughts
So. Many. Times. I too have to make a choice to choose great fullness and choose to drink in the goodness of the life HE has given me. Stay means to me so many things. It is what God continually does, he stays when I run away out of fear. He stays and waits when I am too busy to talk. He stays and is waiting to forgive when my heart is bitter. He is the God that NEVER leaves me or forsakes me. He is teaching me to stay and sit in His presence and allow Him to minister to my soul. ❤️
I embraced the words of “gratitude is the combat for anxiety” I have only lived life to the point that it won’t hurt. I have had a fear of failing, illness, acceptance, love and have settled for so many things that are safe but not God’s will. Now, all this is turned upside down. I know God ad a reason for me to be born and he knows my day of departure from this earth and will be right there by my side. He will usher me out just as He ushered me in! Thank you for this devotion this morning. It came at the exact right time to usher fear out of this day.
My word for the year when I took the quiz in January was abide. I have been trying to focus on abiding, or staying in Christ. I seek His comfort and peace in life’s trials and in the happy times and pray He will stay with me through it all as I pray for my daughters to turn to Him. Thank you for your words that encourage me to keep the faith in my journey!
Anjuli, what a beautiful name! This is a wonderfully written piece! Thank you for sharing it with us. To me, “stay” means to rest awhile in the grace of God. Sit longer and bask in God’s love. Sometimes, during my quiet times in the morning, I tend to rush through. I worry about “the next thing”. I know the Lord wants me to slow down and visit with Him. The “next thing” can wait. Thanks for the reminder and I will try to be more thankful for all I have. May you be richly blessed, dear Anjuli!
I agree….what an absolutely beautiful post. Thank you for sharing something so personal. It will be a blessing to all those that read it.
‘Abide’ is my chosen word for me for 2020. I hope it will be a constant reminder for me to abide in Him. As the calendar flipped to 2020, I looked back at what a tough year 2019 was for me. It was the second most difficult year of my 51 years on this earth. At times I didn’t think I’d make it…but I did! Looking back I was so grateful for one huge situation God took care of for me which helped me end 2019 with renewed hope and determination to make 2020 more joyful no matter what. So I chose ‘abide’ as my word for 2020. And then new, stressful family situations hit me. So ‘Stay’ to me means multiple things…I need to ‘Stay’ close to my Lord ALWAYS and I desperately need to remember that my Lord will ‘Stay’ by my side through it all even in the darkest of times.
This is a beautiful post and so relatable as I just turned 45. “Stay.” When I dwell on the word “stay” I think of sticking it out. Pausing. Dwelling in the moment. And God will always stay with us.
Stay is what God, My Rock, My Immovable Tower beckons to me. He calls me to join Him in quietness and solitude. He calls me to recognize stillness and strength in Him. In staying with a God who stays, I can’t help but find peace and renewed hope.
When I think of the word “stay”, I think of being still, of slowing down and halting the rush of everyday life.
Stay means to be constantly present. Stay in Gods presence so that you can sense his peace and love. Stay present with your loved ones so that you can cherish the moments you have with them. Stay also means, staying where you are, despite it even being scary because God will be with you no matter what. You need to stay with God.
Stay. . . That’s not typically a word I would
Meditate on. But today I am. What does stay mean to me? What does it speak to me? When I think of the word stay, I think be still or relax. It’s funny because my husband and I were just talking about all of our fear and anxiety we have on the daily that we forget to stop and remember that God created us to enjoy life. To enjoy the little things. Everyday we remember the fears but forget the joys. We have been making it a point to just STAY and enjoy. So for me the word stay tells me to smile, to breathe, to relax and enjoy. To stay and remember all that God promises us. It’s a challenge but a beautiful challenge all in itself.
I must begin this by saying ‘thank you’ for sharing your incredible gift of writing that touches so many of our lives and
encourages us. I hope that you won’t mind my saying that you gave me a real chuckle with today’s message. Since
I am almost 82 years old and have never given a lot of thought to aging – it just seemed to happen. LOL! I was interested
in hearing about your experiences and how you are learning to enjoy those treasures that God gives you on your
faith journey.
Of course, some people think more than others and I’m sure that your message will be an encouragement to other women who do
think about the aging process. The world makes such a big thing about all the anti-aging products and techniques.
I thank you for sharing your faith with me and others. I love your writings and they bless me greatly.
Beautiful vulnerable post! I too have tried giving thanks in all circumstances! It really does help! Being human is a truly vulnerable thing, but we have a God who loves us deeply and saves us every day! He can definitely be counted on! I see stay as stay and be my friend to the end God…….stay with me and let it be okay! Stay with me and protect me to the end!
“I stay with my fears without tucking them under my to-do list or behind busyness. I whisper prayers to Jesus.” This is what I need to learn about staying. Thank you, dearest friend.
This message and the replies reminded me to “stay”patient with my sister who suffers with anxiety. She knows God is always there for her. I know God is in control. Thank you, Lord.
To me the word “stay” means connecting
Beautiful post <3
When I here Stay – my favorite song comes to mind: God who stays!
Always near, always with me!
Stay to me means to simply be still and spend time with God. To meditate and talk with him.
Stay means to me to simply be still and spend time with God. To talk with him and meditate on the word of God.
When I think of “stay” I am reminded of my many friends with intellectual disabilities who are so isolated anyway from daily mainstream society and now they can’t gather together for church on Sunday. As I have been reaching out to many of them through the phone they have blessed me over and over with their deep dependence on the Lord and their acceptance of the current situation. They truly know how to “stay” with Jesus and trust Him for even the little things. We all need the faith of what the world might call “the least of these.” I am truly blessed to have them as my close brothers and sisters.
I am a driven person. If I get something in my head, I want it done yesterday! I needed this because I don’t often wait. I don’t stay. I don’t listen to whatever God is whispering. I don’t see what God is putting right in front of me. This spoke so much to me right now. Thankful for your words today..
I am someone who moved 11 times before I met my husband and 15 times since then…”stay” is a dream to me. Finding that place where I want to grow even older than I am with the man God has given me, watching children and grandchildren grow before our eyes. Taking in every sunrise and sunset God gives us and then going on to the most amazing place to stay with our amazing God! I love this word exclamation it’s like the word cozy to me. It makes me feel happy and it makes me feel safe.
Stay.
When the little one, with tear-filled eyes and chubby hands reaches up and says “stay”…
When the elder one, with compassionate eyes lays wrinkled hands on mine and says “stay”…
When the hurting friend sitting close reaches out to clasp the shaking hand with mine and says “stay”…
When my trembling heart lifts quiet prayer to The One Who Loves Us and Spirit breathes “stay”…
I will.
Wow! Thank you for sharing this. I almost feel like you could read my mind as I relate so much to the fears your are writing about. To me, right now, I feel as though God is telling me to “stay” with Him in the tough times, as well as the good. To remember that He will not leave me and that He is ultimately in control.
Stay to me means being still in this constant moving world. Being content with what I have and being myself authentically even when it’s hard to. With all these ever changing events surrounding our lives, I am praying to remain faithful in our awesome God and in His word of truth. May we “stay” true to Him and remember that He Loves Ys and will carry us through all that this life have to offer. Thanks so much for sharing this message. Welcome soon to this new wonderful world of being over 40;). It’s not that bad, just another part of our journey that we are lucky enough to embark upon…. What a gift!
“Stay” means to surrender all to God and trust Him no matter what.
The word “Stay” to me is an invitation to rest, relax, and enjoy my time with God! No matter how fleeting it may be, it is precious time, wanted time, time that is needed! I thank God that He wants to spend time with me, a sinner! I feel so blessed that the God of the Universe is always there for me and wants me to enjoy the time with him as much as He enjoys it!
Peace
Reading your thoughts is like looking into a mirror and scrutinizing every inch of my image and seeing all the flaws and none of the beauty. I am now 74 and have never had a health scare so I figure I won’t be another Enoch and just leave this earth as he did. I sometimes become afraid of what I don’t know more than what I do know. We are funny creatures yet God loves us and that knowledge should be enough to reassure us that no matter the cause, when he calls us home, we will have no reason to fear. At that moment we will not only be ready we will be looking forward to a family reunion. One of which we can only imagine. My sweet mama died from complications due to Alzheimer’s. In her final hours she stretched out her arms to someone only she could see. As I stood next to her I whispered to her to let go and go straight to Jesus. I was not privileged to witness her passing but I knew where she was going and who was welcoming her home. So many wonderful things were witnessed during that time so I have learned “Through it all” I have learned to trust in Jesus and to depend on His word. Thank you Andre Crouch for such a beautiful song.
Stay is just learning as we go that He has never left us and never will. Stay is just truly listening and then obeying. Stay is crying our hearts out to the only one who truly cares and can meet every need and desire.
Thank you for your beautiful insight and sharing your heart.
Stay sounds very similar to ‘be’ in my mind, heart and soul right now. Can I just be? Can I just stay right here? In our current world and all the surrounds me I sometimes want to just ‘go’ and not stay. I believe my God gets that. I am encouraged by others who feel the same way.
When I think of “stay” to me it means to be in His presence, to be still in the midst of everything going on around us and just surrender to Him everything we are and let Him guide us.
To me, STAY means to remain in His presence. What a sweet picture that is.
Anjuli, can I just say that I was so impressed with your writing today. So free. So transparent. So real. If you had not stayed, you wouldn’t have gained the experiences that would ultimately help you to overcome some of your fears. If you had not stayed, you would not have been in touch with the real you; the person of whom Jesus sincerely love and gave his life. In staying, instead of sharing a piece of cake with a select few, you were able share a piece of you that we could absolutely carry into our lifetime. I absolutely loved this post, sincerely. You took me from where I was (going through a divorce) and invited me to sit and stay with you to read and hear about a wonderful savior. It honestly warmed my heart. I’m so glad you stayed. If you had not, neither would I have. Thank you, Tammy
To me, “stay” means surrendering it all to God when you want to control your own life. Staying with God’s plan, not my own.
Stay. To me it means to Abide which is my word for the year. To abide in God’s word.
To me, the word S T A Y makes me sit. Almost like asking a dog to “stay”. Like an order. But sometimes I need God to order me to stay. To rest. Because all I do is run around like a chicken with her head cut off most days. With working full time, being a full time mom, and a full time housewife, and of course throwing in being a wife and a daughter and a sister and a friend…. so so so many people to please. And cue the anxiety. But then, to sit with God and breathe Him in and to let him release all of it from my heart and my mind and my chest, oh what a relief. I can already feel it. Breathe in Jesus and breathe out, thank you. Can’t wait to read this book! ❤️
Stay means to stay home right now. But even in this crisis the best thing to do is to stay in Christ to stay connected with God. That is the only way to not let panic control you. This is a huge storm we are going through right now, bu stay in Jesus and He will calm the waves. If you stay it is good opportunity to learn and grow.
“Stay” means to be in the moment – as full as you can be in the moment with the world and work and kids and life swirling around…enjoy it…because nothing “stays” the same for very long…. I watch my grandboy and he’s growing up so fast and every day has some wonder in it…
And celebrate that 40 number! I hit SIXTY last July (unbelievable, I mean, I don’t feel that OLD lol)!! It’s only a number, after all! God is in our details!
Happy early birthday!
Stay means being faithful with what’s in front of me.
I need to Stay in my fear of getting out of my comfort zone. I get overwhelmed when I take on too much but tonight I had a convo with God about how I can be a prayer warrior. I dont have to always be on the front lines and get bogged down but I can accept that I can still help by praying for people.
Stay. I will listen and be listened to. It’s a moment that time doesn’t matter and I am content. If I say it to another, I hope they feel that too.
Stay means noticing all the God Winks and Jesus Kisses He plants in my life.
Stay… when everyone else leaves, Jesus stays. And for me that has been the pillar for wanting to know Him better, to love Him more, to obey Him completely, to savour every moment spent with Him. Because He stayed, because He never left me.
What Stay means to me is to be still. Rest in the place God has you. Bloom where you’re planted.
To me, Stay is when I blunder in my faith and sin again, but Christ pulls me back to him. I may not feel worthy but Christ wants me to stay and be forgiven.
‘Stay’ to me is the reminder to be at peace because God is always with me. It reminds me to stay in his grace, just stay in his arms that hold me like a lamb. God stays with me and my life is best when I stay with him.
“Stay”
Grounded in my Jesus
Committed to my relationships
Steadfastness
Trusting
Settled
Delighting in the Day
STAYing with the Good Shepherd- He restores our souls and walks us through the valleys and shadows; we’re not running frantic, but calm in the midst. Ps 23 came to me. I enjoyed your blog and I do think life becomes less difficult with age, I’m 61, but only if we STAY♡… like you say.
Wow! That hit me right in the gut. At the moment for me ‘Stay’ is a plea to God to stay with me. In my head I know it’s an invitation from Him to me to slow down and stay with Him, but in my life right now it’s the other way round.
What does STAY mean to me? When I first heard the question I immediately thought of this verse:
“Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.”
Psalms 46:10 KJV
Two years ago I had a major stroke. I am 68 years old now. And I found myself growing closer to the Lord because I had taken and had more time to STAY. The Lord still blessed me with allowing me to preserve many functions I had before the stroke. But He knew I would be
PRAYing more and STAYing more.
Thank you for your article, Anjuli! God bless you and I wish you much success with your book!
:Donna
Stay for me means being present. Stay in the moment. Stay absorbing the feelings, the love I feel, the breeze on my face outside on a beautiful day. Through these times I’ve found it incredibly difficult to not let fear dominate my life, and to be blunt, it’s currently winning. I pray God stays with me.
Stay to me means rest awhile. Look around and engage.
Stay, to come , be still and know that I am God! Be not afraid for I am with you. Rest in me , I am your everything, I have you. I am the same one who formed you in the womb and breathed air into you. I will never leave you. You are mine and I am yours. He is this to each of us. A few learn it at a young age, many learn it as we grow. Some run away from it and deny it sadly! However He always persues us all with His undieing love and grace. I too remember 40s were awkward and felt oldish, now that I’m 70, they seem not so bad—! I must say I feel more at peace with each year He blesses me with. Each day such a special blessing, how great is our God. How He loves us so! The beauty of the home He has blessed us with and the wonderful people He has given us to live amongst and have as neighbors! Every one a unique Picasso made with His own hand and an individual yet, in His image! It is amazing! Stay, see My miracles and masterpieces and love for you all . We just need to to take that deep breath and inhale Him, just STAY in Him! This is a lovely post and revels a wonderful way of growing gracefully through Christ. Thank you for your wonderful insight and sharing. For being so young, ( to me anyway) you are very wise. I wish I had been as close to Him at you age. Best of everything to you and yours!
Anjuli,
I may have a unique perspective on growing older. I grew up with parents that were 40 years my age. I got to see first hand the effects of aging. At this juncture of my life (55) I don’t fear death. For me death is just a blip & then you’re with Jesus praising Him & walking on streets of Gold. Sure I have gray hairs, & sagging skin but who cares. Like you I want to leave a legacy when I go. Would love for people to remember me for all the good I did & the love of Jesus I showed them. Stay is to rest in Jesus & be calm. Let Him fill you with His presence.
Blessings 🙂
unfortunately I am not in a position where I am very thankful. I wish I could be even in the mess!
Stay – to me is something I wanted & still do my ex-husband to do. I wanted so badly for this to happen. It appears it won’t because of his choice to be with another woman. So stay is what I need from Jesus, to fully feel his presence in my loneliness. Please Stay with me Jesus!
“Stay,” currently is the word both our little granddaughters use when it’s time for them to leave our home. While it’s painful for us to hear and see their resistance in leaving, the word reminds me that they have felt deeply loved while here in our home. Loved this devotional – can’t wait to purchase a copy of the book.