I love the silence after a freshly fallen snow, that all enveloping quiet that penetrates to the very soul. I am awed. I am humbled. I am speechless. I am silent. There are no other distractions… only communion with God. As the snow melts and winter quietly transitions into spring, bringing with it an endless explosion of life and beauty, I thought it valuable to reflect on one of the beautiful benefits of the season past.
“Silence” – 9″x 12″ – Oil
“Silence is frightening because it strips us as nothing else does, throwing us upon the stark realities of our life.”
– Dallas Willard –
Below are some extraordinary thoughts excerpted from: The Reading Room at the Water’s Edge
We have an infinite void in our hearts that we attempt to fill with noise, people, busyness, possessions, and other finite things. This is a major sickness in our culture.
We are addicted to noise. We need noise. We’ve got to have noise. Silence steals away the distractions of life which anesthetize us from the feeling that our lives are still empty. Noise helps us live on the banks of denial. Noise keeps us concentrated on something else…anything else.
Silence is the practice of quieting every voice, including our own inner and outer voices. Silence means being still so that we can hear the Voice that searches our hearts and minds. We must quiet our own hearts and mouths if we are to be able to listen to the voice of God.
Solitude and silence, combined with an engaged mind, are practices that can open our lives up to the grace of God. God says, “Be still, and know that I am God”. In solitude and silence, and with a mind actively waiting on God, we will be enabled to view life as God reveals it to us. We will consider our actions and the motives behind them. We will consider the actions of others and allow God to season our response with compassion and forgiveness because we first recognize the compassion and forgiveness God has shown to us.
