Do you feel like all the world is rushing by but you are at a stand still, just waiting for a green light - or even a yellow one? But, alas, you are stuck on red. You are a ship without its rudder. A car without an engine. You have been grounded, delayed until further notice. It is as if someone has put your life on mute. You can watch the rest of the world make noise but you have been hushed.
Maybe you didn't choose it. Maybe your silence has been thrust upon you like a child at their very first day of kindergarden. They don't want to leave their Mom but they have no choice in the matter. Kicking, screaming, crying - all do no good. They are stuck in the classroom till the last bell rings and Mom is back at the door, this time to whisk her child away (only to repeat it all again tomorrow). You may be long past kindergarden and matured past all out tantrums on the schoolroom floor, but your heart may still be aching to break free from the hushed circumstances of your current existence.
When you look outside and see the rest of the world enjoying the noise and commotion of activity it is easy to grow melancholy in the stillness you find yourself surrounded by. You may question why you are sequestered while the people around you are not. Why the isolation? Why the deathly, eirie quiet? How did you get locked into this box while everyone else seems to be enjoying a sort of freedom that isn't open to you? When, if ever, will this change?
Your thoughts may be those of doubt and impatience. Just like a child you yearn for what your peers have. You don't see the precious value of what you possess. Instead, you are caught up in looking at what everyone else seems to be enjoying. Without even realizing it, you have come to wallow in your own condition. The grass must be greener on the other side.
Or is it? Have you stopped to consider the blessing that is in this stillness? Have you completely overlooked the splendor of a quiet season? Have you forgotten how beautiful the wind blowing through the autumn leaves can sound?
The rest of the world can't hear what you can hear. They are too busy. They are too surrounded by the clatter and racket of life. Their ears are filled with sounds coming from every direction, of every pitch - causing too much distraction. They miss what you enjoy.
They miss the soft rain pattering against the roof in the early morning hours. They miss the first birds of spring and last of fall. They miss the hum of dimmed lights and the soft simmer of water on the stove. They walk but don't hear the crunch of autumn's foliage under their feet and the soft swaying of leaves in the afternoon's breeze. The pleasures of the quiet life may be simple, but they are a marvelous creation easily missed and too often taken for granted.
But you are being blessed. You have the privilege of soaking in the presence of these beauties. Your life is not too loud. You do not miss the hushed tones of the uninterrupted life. You have been given a gift.
Your quiet time in life might last longer then you ever expected. A year, two years... maybe even more. Not one of those moments, days or years is a waste. It is not just biding your time. Each one of those precious moments is bestowed upon you to grow you closer to the wondrous God who created the quiet and the beauties that accompany it. He has let you remain in the quiet. He, himself, is in the quiet. And he wants to share it with you. God is waiting in the silence, yearning for a deeper walk with you. Will you join him?
How will you use this time? Will you wish it away? Or will you savor it? Will you use this time to grow intimately closer to God - fostering a relationship unlike any other? He wants to get to know you better. He wants you to know him better. That can only be done through time spent in the company of one another. How important is your relationship with him? He is giving you time to show him just how much of him you want. He has already shown you how deeply he desires you - sending his son to die for you, separating you from the rest of the world to fellowship with you, alone. Will you meet him there? His invitation has already been extended. It is written in the silence.
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