quiet

I was sitting in a restaurant with a friend today enjoying lunch. He is leaving town soon and moving out to California, so this was a chance for us to catch up and say so long (for now). Anyway, during the middle of lunch the restaurant experienced a power outage, and I noticed it instantly. It wasn't because of the lighting, because we were sitting next to a window and the lighting never changed.

It was the noise.

The fountain in the entryway stopped, the hum of the lights disappeared, all of the noise of power was gone. People were still conversing and there was the noise of people walking and talking, but the underlying noise was gone. I found myself wanting to lower my voice, because now others could hear me better. I felt the noise of the conversations grower quieter just like mine did. It felt like all of the other people became uncomfortable with the quiet as well.

Do we all feel uncomfortable in the quiet?

At my house there is always music on. Everyone in our family loves music and there is almost always some sort of music playing. Sometimes softly and sometimes we just rock out! Other than music there is generally a TV on somewhere in the house too. The AC is blowing, the computers are humming, the air filtration systems are whirring (allergies!) and on and on. Right now my monitor for my computer just started making and audible buzzing sound that almost drowns out the AC blowing.

What does it sound like in your house when the power goes out?

You should try it sometime. Make sure all of your expensive electronics, Computers and AC are off and just hit the main breaker. You will quickly see how much noise we live with.

How do we expect to hear from God with all of this noise? I wonder what some of us would do without noise, not the obvious loudness of life, but that low level humming (white noise) of life and electricity.

One of my favorite things to do is standing outside in a heavy snow. Do you know what I am talking about? One of those snows where it falls straight down, and each flake is the size of a half dollar. Talk about quiet and peaceful. I think it is the most peaceful experience in the world.

God wants us to experience His peace, but we need to just hit the main breaker and let life get quiet. We can hear what He has for us when it is quiet, and we are listening.