Providence Presbyterian Church - Powdersville SC

“We know there is some connection between prayer and silence,

but if we think about silence in our lives, it seems that it

isn’t always peaceful – silence can also be frightening…” 

                Have you ever noticed the difference between nights?  There are times when the sky is literally filled with stars and the moon shines so brightly, you can see all around you.  Then there are the nights when it is dark and cloudy, and not a light shines anywhere.  Just as there are two kinds of nights, so are there two kinds of silence.

               I will be the first to admit, and most of you know me well enough, to know that I am not quiet.  In fact, I hope that for most of my days they will be filled with joy and I will be like the starry night – that I will shine with laughter and joy.  However, as all humans, I experience those dark times when I am scared and the silence frightens me.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I like my time alone when I can spend it the way I enjoy, which is in the yard working, reading on the porch, sitting by our pond…but did you note that the times I am happiest are the times I hear something – birds, water flowing, fish splashing and children in our neighboring yards laughing while they play.

                I have often smiled at our teenage grandson, Matt, who is never without his ear phones tying him to his beloved music…and I realize that I often am the same way.  I love to have the radio on in my car, music playing in our home while I do chores, the backdoor open to the porch so I hear the outside world.  If we are invited into silence, are we so frightened that we cannot think beyond the silence?  Is our security blanket the noise around us? 

                I often think getting the outside noise quiet is less painful to me than the inner noise…a silence of the heart and mind.  I am one of those people that Jack talked about in church the last Sunday in May – a “worrier.”  I worry about the safety of those I love, I worry about the health of those I love, I can worry about a lot of things…if I had the time to list them all down I would fill a page. I know God is the one who I must turn to and that He is the ultimate protector, provider and one who loves each of us, however, I drag these worries around endlessly.  Will the grandchildren be okay and live long, healthy and good lives, will the adult children be happy and healthy, will the…and the list goes on.  It was good when we were told God made us, so He knows how we think, how we feel and how we are all intricately made….even our flaws.  So why do we worry and fear silence?  The only thing I can come up with is that I am uniquely made by a Loving God and that He knit me together in my mother’s womb and has loved me just as I am and probably will be for the remainder of my life. He loves me even when He doesn’t like what I do to myself or to others in word, thought and deed.

                “Dear God, speak gently in my silence…even when it is the silence I am comfortable with.  When the loud outer noises of my surroundings and the loud inner noises of my fears keep pulling me away from you, help me to trust that you are still there even when I am unable to hear your small, soft voice, saying “Come to me, you who are overburdened, and I will give you rest…for I am gentle and humble of heart.”  Let that loving voice be my guide.  Amen.”  This prayer was written by Henri Nouwwen and speaks deeply to me.  It comforts me to read it over and over because I realize that in the entire world, there is one God who knows and loves me just as I am.

                I hope this summer brings you joy, solitude, quiet times, prayerful times and times of play as you vacation with your families and loved ones…..and try to have peace with the stillness and silence of summer.

Grace and peace, Becky