The New Silence

Since retirement I have been experiencing life out of the office and on a small farm.  I have moved from looking at the daily calendar to looking at the seasons and the weather day to day.  I have become aware that there is not as much noise in my life as there used to be.  Actually, I have become aware that there is a new silence all around me.  It is not an absolute silence, but it is a quietness never before heard.

 

In the new quietness I find myself taking note of things to which I had never really paid attention.  When an airplane drones overhead, I stop and look for it.  I hear birds singing as well the crows announcing their presence.  I hear the two wind chimes we have hanging on pecan trees.  I know the sound of grass being torn as the cows allow me to stand alongside of them while they are grazing.  I know the sound of the dog's feet as she runs behind me to catch up.  When I hear the sound of chickens cackling, I now know what that fuss is all about.  And whenever a car comes slowly up the dirt road, I hear the sounds of tires on dirt long before I hear the roar of the engine.

 

I am beginning to understand the reason why silence and quietness is a necessary thing in our spiritual life.  We need a moment for hearing the things never before heard.  We need to learn to pay attention to what might be heard that we have been missing because of our hurrying lifestyle.  I am convinced that God is in our quietness.  He rambles about in the silence.  In the quiet silence, He seeks to be heard.  "Lord, give me ears to hear.  Amen."