Silence

Posted on July 27, 2012 by

11 Comments

I get tired. Just weary. The noise has just become too much for me.

Here it is. 11:00 at night. And I can’t stand any more clamor.

My desk is right next to the air conditioner that hangs out the window. As blazing hot as this summer has been, it has blasted more hours of the day than not.

And the sound is too much.

I had to turn it off. Thankful for a cool evening. If 75 F can be considered cool. These days it sure is.

The relief of silence causes me to sigh. Shake my head.

And think.

Election year. Polarizing politics. Chic-Fil-A. Marriage equality. One man. One woman. Obama-care. Occupy. Off shore investments. Tax evasion. Culture wars. Iran. Afghanistan. Bringing the troops home. Leaving them there. Veteran’s benefits. Taxes. Lobbyists. Climate change. Drought. Gas prices. 2012 Olympics. Lack of security. Michael Phelps.

Please, let me stop before I end up getting sued by Billy Joel for copyright violation.

So much noise. So much fear. Stress. Pressure. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. All the time.

And I need a break from it.

Or maybe I need to be a break.

Here’s what I mean.

Perhaps in this noisy, sound bite culture, I can be a piece of calm. A balm for those bruised and battered in this war between cultures.

A safe place.

I commit to you, right in this moment, that I will be silent.

Oh. You think I mean I’m going to stop talking.

No such luck.

But I will be silent. I won’t contribute to the noise. I will laugh. Cry. Share conversations. Write. Sing with my kids. Say weird things in my sleep (that might be good for a post on another day). I will use my voice to lift up. Encourage. Discuss. But not create noise.

Because, in this time of my life, I find that it is much more important to listen to the sound of God’s voice. And He says, “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in all the earth”. (Psalm 46:10)

 

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11 Comments on “Silence”

  1. Wow.

    I haven’t posted anything recently, but I read your blogs every time they come to my email inbox. What an AMAZING writer you are, Susie! Keep up the good work.

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  3. So, so hard to remember to “Be still, and know that I am God” in the midst of the tumoil known as our culture. Like you I am weary of all the noise. I rarely watch the news, I can’t bear to be bombarded constantly with all the negatives. I skim headlines online so I don’t have my head completely in the sand, but that’s about it.

    This post is a good example of your not contributing to the noise. It’s a quiet little piece, hopeful and sturdy and independent. We need more writing like this; we need more people reminding us in spite of the storms brewing overhead and from every side, that we truly can–and indeed, need to–just be still.

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  4. Shhhh….

    Do u hear that? I hear Susie being a wonderful person! Thanks for this bit of encouragement.

    I just read this last night and i loved it.

    “The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still”. Exodus 14:14.

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    • Oh, you made me blush, Jen. Thank you.

      And that is a great verse. God certainly did do a lot while His children stood still. It seems that when they moved too much and made too much noise…well…that was when they forgot Him.

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  5. I love this post Susie! I can completely empathize with the feeling that there is so much noise in our lives…in the world…so much that one would need to turn off something as benign as an air conditioner! Well said…and I love your conclusion that you will add beauty to the world…not noise.

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  6. LOVE this…So true! I can’t tell you how often I can empathize with this…with just needing to turn the noise off! I love how you reference wanting to create beauty, not noise in the world— what a wonderful perspective.

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