Writer’s Note: Just before Thanksgiving last year, I spent a weekend at a monastery. Knowing that God was calling me there for a little ‘Me and Thee Time,” I went. And, boy, am I glad I did. I didn’t know what to expect, but I knew WHO to expect. As promised, He met me there and taught me more in a few moments of silence than I could learn in years of busyness and bustle. Thanks for reminding me of this, Dear Lord, as I have let the loudness of life take its toll on me this week. Back to the stillness, to the silence, to Your Peace! Happy Sunday, y’all. May you find Him in all that you do.

In the silence, I sit. The only sound is the ticking of a nearby clock. Tick tock. Tick tock. The echo of minutes, of hours, of time passing by.

But, you need not be left behind. Grab hold of one of those moments and don’t let go. Delve deeper and deeper into solitude and into that sweet, sweet place that only you and God dwell.

Oh, how much easier it is to hear Him when you are in the same place at the same time. Oh, how much easier it is to see and feel Him when all else falls away.

Why, I wonder, do people fear silence so much? Why do they treat it as if it were a roaring lion trying to devour them when in reality it is the noise and distractions that are most dangerous? Yes, the truth is that silence is beautiful. It has a rhythm which ebbs and flows and harmonizes with every beat of you heart. It is the foundation of God’s own voice, speaking directly to you. Can you hear him? I can.

Lord, may I learn to embrace the silence and You on a daily basis, whether at a monastery or at home where finding peace and solitude is more of a challenge. May I learn to turn down the volume of everyday life so that I can commune with you and hear the sweetness of your still, small and mighty voice every day. I love you. Forever and ever. Amen and Ehmen.

1 Kings, Chapter 19

¹¹ Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces 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; ¹² and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.

¹³ So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”