...

Deep calls to deep

    in the roar of your waterfalls;

all your waves and breakers

    have swept over me.  Psalm 42:7

The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”  Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. 1 Kings 19:11-13

When you hear the word, "Silence", what comes into your mind?  Sometimes for parents, silence is a dream.  For people who are often alone, often in silence, it can become a burden.  Sometimes in worship, silence is awkward, so people begin to cough.  Other times in worship, silence is shared conspiring, literally co-breathing together.  

Because of the sea of words we are awash in today, silence and solitude are rare.  Perhaps that why people get a tickle in their throats during silent prayer.  That is a physiological response to encountering something unusual.  

The psalmist tells us that the depth of God calls out to the depth within us.  It is amazing how the still small silence can roar into our lives and sweep us uncomfortably up in its grasp.  Or when Elijah encountered God it was not in the normal ways people in his day experienced God (wind, earthquake, or fire) but in a whisper or some translate this verse as "sound of sheer silence".  I don't often think of the sound of silence.  I think of silence as the absence of sound.

But there is a sound in silence.  There is a whisper that rides the air currents and enters our souls if only we pause for long enough.  So...and you knew this was coming...practice silence today.  Take a few deep breaths and just be.  It doesn't have to be for hours...five minutes would be great.  Actually, in our world, one minute would be great.  Try to practice this each day.  As you do perhaps the words I've posted about over the last few months will keep washing over you:  

Here

Thanks

O

Sorry

Help

Please

When

No 

Why

Behold

Yes

... [silence]

For God is here in the still small silence, awakening our gratitude, acknowledging our brokenness, helping us, hearing us, receiving our questions, our pleas, all we are and will be with a wondrous love and gave that is something to behold.

Thanks be to God...enjoy the trace of God's grace in the silence

Blessings ~