by Jane Whalen, Clerk of Session, Northminster Church

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”                                                                                                            -Ps. 46:10

History was one of my favorite subjects in school. So it was natural that the first class I took when going back to college in my mid-twenties was a history class! I’m fortunate to have a friend who loves history and travel as much as I do. I’ve lost count of how many museums we’ve explored in cities near and far.

Last week, we spent hours at Carillon Park in Dayton. A large building with exhibits showcasing the industries that put Dayton on the map – Wright Cycle Company, National Cash Register (NCR), Delco, Huffy Bicycles. And acres of historic buildings to explore. So much to see, so many plaques to read; we couldn’t see it all in the time we had.

In a building that told the story of an historic flood, I watched a visitor walk through quickly, turning this way and that, using her phone to take pictures of various displays. No stopping to read the explanation, not even taking a picture of the plaque that informed us what we were seeing. And I wondered – what will she do with the pictures? Will she know what the objects are, their significance? Did she even see the dog on the porch roof? Will she consider what it was like to wait on the second floor or roof of your house, hoping someone would bring a boat to rescue you?

I saw the same phenomenon in the Cabinet War Rooms in London last June. Visitors quickly snapping pictures, not reading the signs or listening to the audio devices given to each person at the entrance. How will they know what it was like to plan a war, working and sleeping underground, while bombs fell on the buildings and streets above?

And now I’m thinking about how I go through some days, one foot in front of the other, not pausing to see what’s in front of me, not really listening to people I encounter, not seeing the beauty of the world around me. Can I walk through part of each day as I do a museum – pausing, looking, considering what it means? Can I see the work of God? Can I listen to what He might be saying to me? Can I be still and know?