Silence Please!

The other day, the funniest thing happened. My oldest son was riding in the back of the car with his little brother. Except today at this particular time, Mikey was not in the mood to play. He just wanted to chill and enjoy the ride. I was shocked! He is a lot like me when I was little, which means that his mouth is usually running about a mile a minute. So as his sweet little brother sought his attention, my youngest found that his attempts were just not working. Therefore, He started to hit him out of frustration, but that lesson is for another day. What I want to hone in on was Mikey's need for silence.

The above story actually segways into this next story : My husband had borrowed our Papa's pressure washer to clean our outdoor furniture before we moved. Even though it was a brutally hot day, he suited up in a long sleeve shirt and long pants to avoid being carried off by mosquitoes. He was worked hard for hours, but he seemed to be consoled by the fact that he was able to listen to his IPod nano--a gift he received for his past birthday.

Well, little did I know, but he mistakingly left his treasured birthday gift in the pocket of his pants and I threw it in the wash with his clothes. Needless to say, it came out squeaky clean, but it no longer worked. I expected him to be upset... Not with me, but just a general frustration for not having his IPod anymore. However, upon me gently breaking the news to him he said the oddest thing--or at least the last thing I had expected him to say.

He said that he felt the Lord telling him that he was too preoccupied--he needed more times of silence.I must say that my husband mainly uses his IPod for listening to contemporary worship, Christian hip hop, scripture podcasts, and 3dm devotionals--all good things. BUT, these good things were blocking out all of his quiet time to listen and hear the Lord's still, small voice. Although my husband felt this in his heart, he was having trouble implementing it...so the Lord lovingly helped him out.

Are you having the same struggle? Is your time too preoccupied with stuff (electronic or otherwise).?Determine today to put the Lord at the center of all you do. Be diligent about making quiet time with him, and be blessed by the peace you receive from time well spent with Him.

Heavenly Father,
Thank you for being so patient with us. Thank you for creating us to need you. Please help us to take the time to quiet our hearts and minds and spend much needed quality time with you.
In Jesus' name, Amen.

"But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him." Habbakkuk 2:20