Liverpool Won (and the things I leave behind)!

*It’s ironic that I write this post on the 7th year anniversary of my blog. As 7 is the spiritual number for completion, I too feel a bit more complete … Liverpool, you won!*

I was hopeful about Liverpool … so hopeful that I even bought a pair of sandals for my afternoon and evening strolls after the conference sessions ended. Yes, I am here for work so technically as long as the work is done all is well right? Not so … I wanted to sight see, I wanted to take pictures, I wanted to explore Liverpool.

It didn’t take long – the 2nd day actually – to realize that I needed to rethink my time in Liverpool. After visiting the International Slavery Museum, I resigned that I’d embrace having some quiet time in Liverpool. I ramped up my reading, found quiet places to sit and “tackled” a task from my list …

I’ve mentioned a few times on my social media platforms how much I enjoyed and was moved by reading Rediscovering Jesus by Matthew Kelly. The author recommends a series of reflections and activities to help the reader rediscover Jesus. I completed nearly all of them and have continued with the prayer process. The final task I had was to sit in an empty church.

Kelly suggests finding a church and just sitting for one hour, uninterrupted and in silence. I was down for the task, but after unsuccessfully finding a spot in my temporary home and then visiting a beautiful church in Cardiff, I decided I’d go back there. BUT then there was Liverpool …

Situated very close to our hotel is one of the largest cathedrals in the UK. I stopped by on Wednesday during a brief rain break and decided I’d complete my task that day. The first day I just sat, prayed, cried, and sat some more before one final prayer and then leaving. On Thursday I realized I wanted to go back, this time with my journal (thanks Ayanna), slightly breaking Kelly’s rules. I prayed, wrote, cried some more, wrote some more and ended my time with reading through my entries since arriving in the UK (AMAZING) and one final prayer. Today I returned for a 3rd time, once again just to sit … this time with my headphones. The plan was the repeat the sitting activity, but this time within the larger part of the cathedral where I knew it would be slightly noisier than the smaller, semi-private prayer space I’d be in for the previous two days. My plan worked perfectly for the first 30 minutes or so but then the organist started playing (or perhaps practicing) and the music overpowered what I was trying to listen to on my headphones. I decided to listen to a sermon instead. At first it was hard to focus on the message with the organ in the background so I tried to refocus by looking at my screen. It didn’t take long before I thought about how my experience of visiting the cathedral over the last few days – and even my semester in the UK – related to a larger theme in this season of my life.

In the stillness we gain clarity. In the stillness we hear from God. In the stillness we can reflect. In the stillness we are healed. In the stillness we can gain the courage and strength we need to carry on. Since being abroad I’ve had a lot of stillness and quiet time. Time to be broken. Time to repair and rebuild. Time to recommit. Time to refocus. But I will return home soon and will be without the luxury of ongoing moments of solitude and stillness. How will I handle the “noise”? How will I cope with the interruptions? How will I balance all the lessons I’ve learned, my renewed relationship with Christ, my new relationship with Christ with the loud and sometimes distracting “organ” of life back in the U.S.?

My visit to Liverpool did not deliver the adventurous exploration I wanted or have experienced on other trips this year, but it brought something so much more significant. I gave me an opportunity to lay down a bit more of more burdens, to submit at another level to God’s will for my life …. to find my way to God in my moments of stillness, quiet and peace. And Liverpool helped me transition my thoughts ever so slightly to my transition back home.

Ironically, I also finished reading “Traveling Light” by Max Lucado on today. How fitting … #LiverpoolWon #CompleteSurrenderInLiverpool #TotallyLitForChrist #WithholdingNothing