Sounds in the Night

When I was a boy I lay in the darkness and listened to the clanking sounds of freight trains crawling into town and the sounds of dogs barking at one one another in the distance.  Here when the old man lays down in the night, there are no sounds to hear.  Leash laws seems to have hushed the dogs and the nearest train rails are too far away to hear.  However, once in awhile on a night like tonight the distant highway sounds slip onto the farm through the moisture laden air heavy on the ground.  The sound of rubber rolling on asphalt is as distinctive as the whistle of a train engine as it rumbles toward a crossing.  

These distant night time sounds are a reminder that while I am here and still, others are out there moving toward another place in their life.  The truth is we are all moving toward the next place in our life.  We may think we know what that looks like, but many times we end up being surprised.  Some of those who are still out there moving from where they are to where they are going may be going to safe places, but others may find some trouble or difficulty awaiting them.  We never know where those who are going are going.  

What we can do as we hear the sounds of their going is to pray for them.  Some may be travelling with a heavy heart, others going aimlessly with no purpose, and some are distracted by the things which have been troubling their spirits throughout the day.  The Spirit speaks to us in many ways as He calls us to pray for one another.  We cannot always know the stranger's trouble, but we can know that he or she is out there with a life that is unraveling.  Maybe the reason we hear the sounds in the night, or see the things that are often missed in our hurrying is the Spirit's way of calling us to help them.  Maybe the Spirit is calling us to pray for the unknown stranger still out there in the darkness going to some place where whatever is still unfolding.