Silence

I had a meeting on Friday at a location almost 3 hours from home.  After the first 90 minutes, my radio station began to fizzle.  Instead of searching for another station, I decided to turn it off.

Have you ever done that?  It's almost unnerving.  The silence is so...so loud!  I had the urge to turn the radio back on, but decided against it.  After a short time, I got used to the silence and even began to enjoy it.  I was more aware of sights along the roadside and looked forward to what I might see around the next bend, like roadside fruit stands with misspelled words, yard art, and an elaborate resting place for pets.

While sitting in the quiet, I began to wonder why we resist silence so much.  We are 'thinking' at some level every waking moment, and to some extent while we dream.  As I go through the day, my thoughts consist of planning what I think must be done and what I think needs to be done; contemplating how busy I am and how tired I am; and hoping that I accomplish something significant that day.  Hmmm.  A lot of my thinking is wrapped up in me, myself and I.  Meanwhile, all of this 'thinking' is happening with a symphony of noise from the radio, the television, the smart phone, the iPod, and the daily hustle and bustle around us.

In one of Paul's letters to the church of the Thessolonians, he makes mention of being quiet.

I Thessolonians 4:11-12  And that you aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; that you may walk properly (honestly) toward them who are outside, and that you may have lack of nothing.

I've often thought that aspiring to lead a quiet life meant resisting conflict and chaos.  Perhaps it does, but it could also mean that I should aspire to just be quiet.

Why are we so uncomfortable with silence?  Could it be that we might actually 'hear' what we are thinking?  Could it be that we might actually 'hear' what God is saying to us?

Proverbs 8:32  Now therefore, listen to me, my children, for blessed are those who keep my ways.

This week, give silence a try.  Turn off the electronics, go for a walk, and listen to the breeze through the leaves, the birds chirping, the brackets hitting a flag pole, and the quiet.  The silence may be uncomfortable at first, but soon it might become something you crave.