silence

My husband is Mr. LIVE RIGHT NOW, and I am Mrs. LOOK TO TOMORROW. Someone’s gotta be forward thinking, right? But I confess that I’m not forward thinking. I’m just plain worrying. And, with that confession I hear Jesus and his admonition not to worry about tomorrow because today has enough worries of its own. Then, what's a gal to do?

Okay, back to the topic of silence, stillness and sitting in His presence. It’s a good idea but, how, oh how, does it happen in our nutso, crazy, wild ride existence? Is it possible to practice His presence like Brother Lawrence centuries before us when we are plagued by SO many 21st century pulls and distractions?

 Here we are…out of the fast lane, screeching halt-then, SIT, BE STILL, LISTEN. Really? Fast transitions often leave my head spinning. Can I regain a quiet focus long enough to settle into the quiet and stillness and hear anything?

Six years ago this fall I was invited to go on a “silent retreat”, the kind that you literally do not speak in during the time period for silence. This particular one was for 36 hours. Some of my friends were incredulous. “How can a group of women be silent for that long, for any amount of time?” One of my relatives emailed me and asked, “Just what does one do on a silent retreat, like – what’s the purpose?” One colleague even ventured to look at me as if to say, “YOU, silent?”

Bring out your togas. We're going Greek today.

Sandi told the story of a woman who had an affair with a ministry partner. Kelley talked about protecting our brothers in Christ. Sadly, it's a theme we see in many churches--what happens when ministers, both men and women, aren't careful.

It surprised me to find that this is a theme God addresses.