The quiet is calling.
Dear Friend,
I spent some time the other day wrapped in warmth - not just physically, but in the kind of soul-deep comfort that makes you exhale a little longer, soften a little more, and remember you’re not carrying life alone.
I was at a day spa, and something about the quiet, the warmth, the slowness of it all spoke to me in a way I wasn’t expecting. I ended up deciding to leave my phone in my locker and took my journal to the lounge room and I wrote this poem in the stillness. I wanted to share it with you.
In that quiet place, I was reminded of something that has settled more deeply in me lately, that the beautiful and mysterious promise that the Holy Spirit, God’s very presence, is called our Helper. Not a helper in the distant or shallow sense, but one who comes alongside with strength and authority.
I learned from a reflection in my Lectio 365 app recently that the word ezer, used in the Hebrew Scriptures for “helper”, is the same word used to describe Eve. She wasn’t created as lesser, but as a powerful companion. And parakletos in the Greek, the name Jesus uses for the Spirit, means advocate, comforter, the one who draws near and steadies us.
Isn’t that breathtaking? God doesn’t offer help like handing over an umbrella and walking away, rather God is our help. He stays. He fights for us. He comforts us, not from a distance but from within.
In seasons when life stretches us, when our hearts are tender or tired, when we lead others with love but feel the quiet ache of carrying so much, we are not alone. We are not left to muster up strength we don’t have. We are held by a Comforter who is both tender and strong, near and unshakable.
And on that day, as I sat wrapped in that robe, warm and still, I felt it so clearly: this is what it is to be embraced by God. Not because everything is easy, but because God is here - my safe place, my deepest rest.
I just wanted to tell you that. I hope this reminds you, as it did me, that we’re never walking alone - not for a moment. We’re held. We’re helped. We’re known.
Grateful for you,
With warmth and gratitude,
Lauren x
Lauren Harkness
Canberra, ACT
Founder, At Her Table
