"Listen"

     While visiting the home of some friends my six-year-old granddaughter saw a nicely manicured small setting area in the backyard.  After getting my attention I looked in the direction that she indicated.  “Pops,” she said, “I would love to have a garden like this.  In the mornings, I would come out here in my house robe, drink my coffee, and just listen to the birds sing.”  I couldn’t but be amused at the thought of her wanting to get away from the hectic pace of life that a six-year-old must go through.  It seems that all of us, even a six-year-old, often seek to find a moment of quiet in our busy and noisy lives.  There is the quiet you experience in the house just before anyone else wakes up.  The quiet of a walk with just your thoughts.  I always loved the quiet of the classroom, when the last student has gone, the door closes and the teaching day was done.  What is there about that moment of quiet? Could it be that it is in the quiet that we are able to think and hear more clearly?  The prophet Elijah had such a moment, And he (God) said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice (1Kings 19:11, 12).  Our days and nights are full of strong winds, earthquakes, and fires.  They come in many forms, a list of things that I must get done today, work that is piled up on the desk, meetings that must be attended, meals to cook, clothes to wash, children to bath, and a hundred-other urgent task.  Don’t forget as you deal with the trials of the day to listen for that still small voice. It is found all around you if you take the time to listen.  It’s in the beauty of a sunrise as it paints the sky with vivid colors, that moment just before you open the car door to another work day, the quiet as your baby falls to sleep in your arms, or just as you lay down your head for a well-deserved nights rest. For one six year old it would be setting in the garden, in her house robe, drinking coffee, and listening to the birds sing.  In those moments of quiet, take the time to read and meditate upon Gods word.  Listen to what he has to say.