On Silence

It seems the Lord is weaving a theme in my days lately: silence.  Not that my days are quiet- far from it really, but this word and the idea of stillness, quiet and listening seem to recur a lot in the last week or so.

The very best fifteen minutes of my weekend took place with me sitting next to the bathtub- listening.  It began as an exercise for me- to listen for what they'd say or do without my direction.  And after just a few moments I was so in awe of the little men before me I couldn't have uttered a word if I'd have wanted to.  They were both so perfect and innocent in the natural morning light.  Splashing on another, giggling at bubbles, growling their animals through the water, their roles as big and little brother materializing before my eyes.  I felt(/feel) so overcome with the Lord's grace knowing that these two, who have fought so hard for their entire lives for love and for survival- these two don't have to fight for those things anymore- they can simply be loud and raucous and happy in the morning sunlight, in a clean bathtub.  He was gracious to deliver these two from their hurt here on Earth, and gracious to allow me to mother them.  And gracious to quiet me in that moment-so that I might hear what He had to show me.

And this weekend, quieted further still by a Spirit-let urging to remove some very distracting distractions from my life (for at least the next forty or so days), I found myself devoting more time to a funny, thought-provoking and very interesting read.  And, I'm sure by no mistake the chapter I read yesterday was entitled, "Silence".  It began with this quote from Saint Benedict:

"There are times when good words are to be left unsaid out of esteem for silence."

This thought sat with me all evening as I ironed and did my part to ready our home for the coming week.  Ironing, folding, sorting, cooking- silent.  And since I know that the Lord comes and will not be silent, I shouldn't have been surprised to find a link to this article in my inbox this morning forwarded on by a co-worker containing the following gems of wisdom.

Yet silence is a discipline the church would be wise to practice. We currently use an unprecedented number of platforms to create a previously unimaginable amount of noise. If we’re not denouncing people who don’t live up to our standards or giving our opinion on the latest sound bite, we’re plunging numerous serrated accusations into the backs of our fellow Christians.

But we have to speak out against the injustice. We have to bring attention to the abuse.

And this is true. Of course it is. But this is what I have learned during my very short period of trying to lessen the noise: there is power in occasionally practicing the discipline of silence. When we choose silence, we choose to relinquish control. We are forced to listen unconditionally. A stillness gathers, a groundswell of peace that will eventually overpower the noise.

It’s hard to believe, I know. It seems irrational. It’s certainly counter-intuitive. I guess it makes about as much sense as telling someone that in order to live, they must die.

What an awesome discovery to see the fulfillment given from yet another of our Lord's dichotomous principles.  And I think I'd rather adhere to it than to continue yakking on this blog for today.