The Silent Game

Photo by Pedro Klien

Just be quiet!

Because of the activities 24/7 in our lives--school is in session, sports are full-swing, the holiday season lingers right around the corner--it's hard to disengage from all of it to be still. This weekend I was in the grocery store when I observed two children screaming in each other's faces while their parent stood, wide-eyed and slack-jawed, staring at the contents of a half-empty soup shelf.

And I knew instinctively that the parent didn't even hear the arguing. Perhaps she was accustomed to hearing it all the time. Or maybe she needed it to think (the way I run a box fan at night to sleep).

Seeing this, I realized with a sort of clarity I didn't have before that I, too, get accustomed to the noise. I listen to music, I talk on the phone, I ineract with the people in my family. I even talk to myself sometimes! But rarely--when my eyes are open--am I silent.

Psalm 46:10 exhorts us to be still and know that God is God.

At some point each day this week, I am going to find a few minutes--apart from the time I spend in daily reading and praying--just to be quiet. I invite you to join me.