Growing up with six brothers and
sisters, the word "quiet" hardly describes the environment. It was
noisy and loud and full of life exploding from all parts of the house. My room
was a little sanctuary but it being shared with my younger sister, was never
truly quiet either.
When I moved out on my own, the
quietness was eerie. I moved in with my older sister and her boyfriend, both
who worked opposite hours than me. No one was running around or invading my
room with a dire announcement or pounding on the bathroom door because they
really needed to use it. Naturally, I filled up the silence with music.
Over the past few years, God has
shown me how to turn off the music and enjoy the silence. Especially the
silence of sleeping babies. Silence. It
is when your breath becomes the loudest thing your ears can hear and the
beating of your heart reminds you that you are alive and God is not going to
waste a single minute of your life.
God has reminded me to be still and know that he is God (Psalm
46:10).
It is in the quiet when the listening occurs. In
the quiet is when the learning and wisdom and grace tend to heard all the
louder because there is nothing else to hear. It is in this place, that the presence of God
can almost be touched and God reminds you that this is holy ground and you will
never be the same.
It is here that transformation
begins and the spirit stirs and God's plan for you unfolds.
Praying that this week you would
seek to find the quiet. That you would find a moment to stop the busy and chaos
and just be. Maybe five minutes. Perhaps ten. Maybe more. Praying that you
would get to a place of silence. Not reflecting or praying or lamenting. Just
stillness. Pure quiet. Praying that your ears and heart would be opened to hear
and feel.
Praying that you would learn to listen and
search and hear and know that God is there. Praying that his power and majesty
and peace would transcend your understanding and guard your hearts and mind in
him. Praying that you would embrace the silence that goes unnoticed amongst the
noise of the day and truly enjoy the lack of motion or words or thoughts. And
that in the midst of it that the presence of God would forever change you.
Here's to silence and listening
with open hearts.