I began to think about silence. In my life I have dealt with varying forms of silence. Right now, I am enjoying my summer break, and I am quite fascinated by the silence that I don't often get to entertain during the school year, and I am okay with it. My kids on the other hand, not so much.
Depending on how you look at it, silence can be perceived as both a good and bad thing. Lets think for a moment about being in a conversation and there is silence in the middle of it. Is it awkward silence or welcomed? Just this weekend I was with some friends and we were traveling back from a long fun day at the beach. The entire day had been filled with conversation and laughter. At one point on the drive back, the truck with 5 people in it, became silent because we were all tired and everyone was just in their own world. It was not an awkward silence at all, but nice to just be in each others company without any demand of conversation or space filling. No expectations but just pure relaxation, we were all comfortable with each other to just be quiet and know it was ok.
There have been other times I have been with people and there was that awkward silence in the midst of conversation and you didn't know what to say but felt that something needed to fill the space because otherwise it was just weird.
There are so many different kinds of silence. The silence when someone does not return a text and your expectation is that they will. The silence when your children are in another room and you know they must be up to something because it is too quiet. The silence after a long busy day and you get home and kick off your shoes and shut off your phone.
The deafening silence that happens after a loved one passes away and the funeral is over and the world has moved on, but you are not ready. The silence after someone moves out or moves away and their room is empty. The silence of a loss of a beloved pet, where you would give anything to hear their bark, or their paws across the kitchen floor once more.
In our busy world, silence is not often welcomed or it is considered faux pas. We work hard at filling the silence with noise, things, people. Sometimes its good to just take a look at the silence and accept it for what it is. To me silence is reflective. I think people often fight silence because in the silence we are forced to reflect. We either reflect on the situation, our feelings, our pain, but most of all the truth of a situation.
When my husband passed away, and life moved forward whether I was ready or not, I remember the silence, the painful silence. The struggle was truly real. Often people choose to never face the silence but instead use fillers to avoid it, that in the end can sometimes do more damage than good. Personally for me, the silence made me come face to face with my pain, the pain of loss staring me blatantly in the face. I was forced to see how exactly I was feeling both emotionally and physically and the pain that filled the depths of my soul, as I felt like my heart was being ripped out. I was forced to see that if I did nothing, I felt as though the pain would kill me. I was forced to make a choice. I chose at that time to cry out in the silence, to my Heavenly Father who comforted me time and time again and spoke healing words and life to me in that vary silence.
Silence in any situation, in my opinion is a chance for clarity. It forces you to look deeper. Even when you are having a conversation with someone that is serious, you are told to pause (silence) before giving a response. When you are engaged in any kind of conversation with someone and there is a long silence, or maybe you never get a response, there is some clarity in that...possibly that silence is your answer. What is there to be learned in the silence you are experiencing?
God encourages us to get quiet (silence) for many reasons. I think my favorite verse out of the many is Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God....".
Personally, in my silence, I can clearly and reflectively hear His voice far more, as He guides and directs me on His path.
Silence isn't always easy, especially if you are busy like I am, but it doesn't have to be awkward, its all in perspective. In the silence the enemy will try his best to torment you, but run to God first to shut out the noise of the enemies chatter, and call on the name of Jesus. Silence is a way to discover possibly what God has before you or what He is trying to show you. Silence is a chance to soak in His peace letting it pour over you like rain. I am finding that the older I get that silence at times is a necessity to collect myself and my thoughts and to slow my world down. Don't run from silence, but instead embrace it, and discover the truths behind it. If you cant see it, He'll show you, just ask, but then be sure you are quiet so you can hear His voice with the answer.
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