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My son has gone to a French immersion school since kindergarten. I figured out pretty quickly that I needed to supplement my high school French classes from 25 years ago if I wanted to have any idea what he was being taught. So I started using the Duolingo app and became good friends with Google Translate.
I’ve discovered several French words that I love. Some just for the way they sound – like quelque chose, which means something. Others because they are fun, like les bonbons, which means candy! Doesn’t that sound like it means candy! Some sound so similar to their English words, but so much fancier – like pique-nique, or as we say picnic.
But one French word that hits me in the gut is the word for worry. It’s inquièt or inquiète. The impact is lost when you hear it, but it is literally spelled inquiet or not quiet.
And isn’t that what we are when we are worried? We’re not quiet. Our minds don’t stop running through possible outcomes or potential solutions. Our mouths don’t stop talking about the situation. Even our bodies shake with nerves, our teeth grind, we can’t sleep.
We are not quiet. We are worried.
I know a lot of us are worried right now. We are worried about our homes that were damaged during Hurricane Ida and how much insurance is going to cover. We are worried about how our children are going to be affected by all of this – the pandemic and now a major hurricane. We are worried if life will ever not feel like a series of punches.
I don’t know the answer to those questions. But I do know where to turn to find the quiet.
Psalm 62:5 & 6 says, “Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.”
I pray that for you today and for me and my family. That we would find our rest in God. Find our hope in Him. Find the quiet in Him.