Sitting here in my room with the sound of nothing in the background. You would never know that it was a summer morning. The house is unbelievably quiet; almost like no one is here. The smell of my cinnamon coffee is in the air, and the temperature outside is currently 54degrees…on August 21st. That is still summer right?!
I have to admit, I love it. I am over the humidity that hovered over us like wet blanket these past couple of weeks. I am over it being so ridiculously hot and humid that it is in fact better to stay inside. Days like this in the summer are just like the cold, snowy ones in the winter and I don’t like it at all. Stay tuned for another post about 6mo from now talking about how I miss the heat…
The stillness this morning is as odd as the cool temp. Sometimes our house is so loud and noisy it’s all I can do to make it to bedtime. The TV is on, music is playing, someone is watching a youtube video about Minecraft, and no one takes into account who is speaking or listens to all the noise; they just talk over everything else. Gaining my attention is a battle. And, who ever is the loudest gets to be the victor.
I like to think I love the quiet. That silence is my favorite and no noise is the best noise. But, then it happens and all I can do is miss the sound. The slam of cupboard door because someone is making coffee. The squeaky pantry door opening as someone looks for breakfast. The water running for a morning shower. And of course, the voices that are always asking what we are going to do today or if I will make pancakes (my kids would eat pancakes for every meal if I would make them).
Keeping this in mind, I cannot help but think how I listen. Do I turn my attention to the loudest and most in your face voice? Do I only respond to what is screaming in my head or my heart? Or, do I take a minute, evaluate what is going on around me and seek out who was there first? The one who is sitting quietly waiting for the chaos in the house to suspend for a moment so they can be clearly heard?
Why is it so hard to be still, and then listen?
I think we get so accustomed to the chaos and the noise we look for our answers in it. We expect the loudest voice to be rightest voice (yes, it’s word; trust me right now I’m the loudest…). And, then we totally forget about quiet. We neglect the stillness, and look to the noise for our peace. We get confused when there is no noise; like we have no direction when there is nothing fighting for our attention.
There IS good in the noise. Sometimes, it’s the only way to gain our full attention. But, how often do we miss Him in the stillness because we are looking for a display of His might? How many times do we ignore the small voice in hearts because the good things are louder?
Today, I am going to choose happy because He is God in the quiet and the chaos. He is there for me in stillness and the storm. I only have to take the time to listen.
Consider the Birds... 