Shh…

There is so much noise. It is hard to hear. There is so much confusion. It’s like a cacophony. Nothing distinctly discernible; a discordant mixture of sounds (so says the dictionary). We are surrounded by this, constantly. It is disconcerting, unnerving and unsettling, and yet those feelings are so familiar we may not notice them – until we are removed from the cacophony. Then we begin to take note of the surrounding sounds.

This past weekend, I was by the ocean for 48 hours, thanks to my husband’s company, a “retreat” of sorts. While he worked, I sat outside and listened to the ocean. The waves hitting the shore, a flag pole cable tapping the metal pole, two small children playing in the sand, and the rest was stillness. To hear, one must become still. It’s easy to be still by the quiet ocean, for it is conducive to stillness, especially when one is alone. Solitude. I don’t think this is something that is promoted. We tend to live in a culture of intense doing, surrounded by noise. In fact, I would say that quiet and solitude are somewhat discouraged.

“He said to them, ‘Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.’ For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat” (Mark 6:31). Not much has changed in a couple thousand years. Jesus knew the disciples would need to “exit the building,” sort of speak, to find rest. The noises might have been different back then, but noises they had. Jesus told them they would need to get away and find quiet and solitude for it is in the silence that we hear His whispers; it is in the silence that our soul finds rests.

As I sat on the beach in the quiet, in the solitude, my heart longed for so much more, my soul craved something the world could not give. I did not want the time on the beach to end. “The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him” (Lamentations 3:25). What am I seeking Lord? What does my inner most being crave? I seek oneness with You. I crave unity with Your heart. In the silence and solitude my soul can long for the very thing for which it was created. It can long for Him and be satisfied.

I cannot stay at the water’s edge staring at the ocean forever, although somedays I wish I could. So how do I bring this silence and solitude back with me and into my everyday life? It’s a struggle, a big struggle. The busier life gets, the greater the struggle. “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (Luke 5:16). A lonely place, where do I find that? I suppose I must ask Jesus to help me find those “lonely places” just like He did. He too was surrounded by people, responsibilities and commitments, and yet He knew the importance and the necessity of taking time to withdraw to a lonely place to pray. He found a place where He communed with his Father; a place where he rested with His Father; a place where His Father restored him. Lord, help me find these “lonely places” in my everyday. When I can get there, my favorite lonely place is in nature, where I am surrounded by God’s creation. There, I am engulfed by the majesty of God’s masterpiece and my soul finds rest and is satisfied.

Be still and know that I am God
– Psalm 46:10