Silence can be loud.

My wife and kids are driving back to the Midwest. I will join them on Thanksgiving Day after a nice little red eye flight. In the meantime, I’m in this quietly loud house by myself. It is so loud that my ears are ringing from the silence. My wife suggested that I turn the T.V. on for some background noise, but I’m not going to do that. This loud silence is calming. Strange, but it is.

You see, silence is a premium in our world. There’s always some noise. Here…it is so quiet that the typing sounds of my keyboard is almost too loud. And now my house is creaking. I don’t think I have ever heard those noises before. And now, standing here in my kitchen…

(yes, I am standing in my kitchen typing this because, well, I can)

…I can hear my neighbor working in his garage. I don’t think I have ever heard him before like this. Wow, that fish tank is loud. Hmm, my refrigerator sounds like that? Amazing what silence can do; what it can reveal.

Can you see…ummm…I mean, hear where I am going with this?

In this deafening silence I am hearing how much I am missing. No, not my neighbor working in his garage or that loud fish tank, but God. My kids go to bed and I turn on my T.V. or peruse social media. I have to have noise of some sort. Rarely do I just sit in silence because it almost feels like wasting time. I have to accomplish something, especially with the kids sleeping (or gone), right?

I miss so much…

[Silence]

I’m back. I was enjoying the silence again.

I need to find more times like this.
I need to soak in silence.
I need to listen to the still, small voice of God…more often.
I need to focus.
I need silence.

Silence is not scary.
Silence is not a waste of time.
Silence is not non-productive time.

Silence is a gift. Embrace it. Cling to it. Listen…

[Silence]

 

The Pastor -|—