Deep space and the deep ocean have something in common: Great Silence. Humans cannot maintain life in deep space or in the deep ocean without life-support. Our Life-Support breaks the great silence.

Silence and waiting on God are built in to the human experience. There are many places in Scripture where God was silent. People waited for days, sometimes years, for God’s answer. Moses waited 40 years in the desert before he was sent back to Egypt to save the Israelites. Joseph spent at least a decade in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Abraham and Sarah waited over 20 years for a child.

Time means nothing to God. He is outside of what we call time. He sees eternity from beginning to end, all at once. Our concept of time isn’t important. What’s important to remember is that God’s timing and His grace are for this moment. God is in the now!

With the Lord a day is like a thousand years

and a thousand years is like a day. ~ 2 Peter 3:8

We don’t do well with long term silence. Our psyches, our souls: our minds, wills, and emotions run from it. Silence makes us feel alone. And to be alone can be painful. At times we experience a silence that screams so loud it is deafening. There is a suffocating silence that is so intense it is almost breath-taking, We may be asking, where is our life-support?

If the Lord had not been my help

my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence. ~ Psalm 94:17

We must remember we aren’t alone. Our life-support is there! The Holy Spirit is with us all along. All we need to do is take a breath. Breathe in the Holy Breath of God… Don’t allow the silence to bring anxiety and fear. Trust God. He may keep you waiting, but He always remembers promises made and will appear in His perfect time to fulfill His Word.

Be still. Wait with God. Listen. Silence may be the answer today.

Jesus saved the world at 3 mph, a walking pace.

A dear friend recently sent me the above sentence which she read in the introduction for a documentary film Godspeed. As I contemplated this thought I was convicted to slow down my pace even more. Before long a blog column was born…

Our world has most of us living at breakneck speeds. Jobs; families; children; church and school activities; hobbies; groceries; chores; cooking… With all this who has time to rest much less contemplate God’s goodness and purpose for our lives.

When we look at world history and the pace at which most cultures have lived, it’s only within the last 100 years or so that family and personal lives began to get overcrowded with outside distractions. With the invention of steam power for boats and trains, followed by automobiles, airplanes and computer technology, life for the average person has gotten complicated at an exponential rate.

Since beginning my Benedictine Oblate path in 2012, I’ve come to understand my need to slow down and simplify my life. It’s not something that happens overnight to be sure. Life didn’t get complicated and cluttered in one day and it isn’t going to get simplified in one day either. But just like most things, as we take baby steps each day towards our goal eventually we will see improvements.

One thing that helps me is to keep strong boundaries on my use of media and devices. Apple’s iOS 12 update has a new feature which allows you to put time limits on your apps. I implemented it immediately and have already seen great results. By limiting screen time I’m able to be more in the present moment; to recognize God’s Presence in my life; to be present to my surroundings, to myself, my husband and my dogs. By limiting, and in some cases removing, media distractions I’m able to focus more on the things that are important to me. To enjoy learning because I can remember more of what I’m reading. Then I’m able to share more with you.

God doesn’t want our life to be lived numbed out from one media device to the next, never having personal relationships with Him or anyone else. But He isn’t going to come in our living room and hide the TV remote or change our device passwords. It’s up to us to discipline ourselves. Let’s look at Jesus’ example. Let’s slow down our pace. The next time you’re outside, stop. Take sit down and just look at the clouds, listen to the birds and soak up the breeze. You’ll be surprised how energized you will be afterwards.