When I was a child, my mother liked to shop at one particular department store in Knoxville’s historic Market Square Mall. The Square was quite popular until the large indoor mall came and people flocked to the huge indoor space with several big chain department stores. The store Mom loved back in the day was called “Watson’s on the Mall.” The “on the Mall” distinguished it from the other Watson’s stores in its southeastern U.S. chain founded in Knoxville at the turn of the 1900’s. Watson’s on the Mall had its own commercial on local radio with a catchy jingle. We would park and walk past all the fresh vegetables and artists on the Square. There were lots of smiling people in hippie tie-dye, peace signs, and smiley face t-shirts. We would go into Watson’s and go to where the women’s clothes were. Mom would peruse the newest fashions on discount. Though bell-bottom pants, mini-skirts, and leather vests with leather frill tied with beads were popular, my mother was a little more conservative in her dress. My ADHD wouldn’t let me slowly walk around with her and wait while she stopped, looked, felt the fabric, held the dress up in the mirror. I would escape and climb in and out of the clothing racks while she was distracted. (Though I was undiagnosed, ADHD was called hyperkinetic disease back then. Kids like me were called “Fidgety Phil” in the journals) I once hid inside one of the round racks spinning around the colorful clothes, feeling the fabrics on my arms, smelling the freshly shipped apparel until I got dizzy. It created a kind of multi-stim psychedelic experience for me. When I emerged from the rack, my mother was nowhere to be found. Initially, I didn’t panic, but looked around for her. When I couldn’t find her anywhere, I began to look a little more frantically. After several harrowing minutes my mother came out of the dressing room to find me with tears rolling down my cheeks running to get a squeezy hug. I promised myself never to do it again, however, “Fidgety Phil” had other designs and each time we went to Watson’s, I climbed behind the clothes. Calming down was a challenge.
When the disciples were in the midst of a storm on the Sea of Galilee, they were anxious and afraid and could not calm down. Jesus however, was so calm, he was asleep in the bottom of the boat. Mark tells us, “And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.” (Mark 4:39 ESV) Sometimes storms in our lives turn our worlds upside down. Even when we try to rest, we can’t calm ourselves. Jesus can give us a peace that goes beyond understanding. His simple words to our anxious hearts are “Peace! Be still,” can bring about “a great calm,” even if we are a Fidgety Phil or Phyllis.
Hang in there people! God is Glad to be with us! I’m praying for us all!
