A Year of Quiet

2024 was a year of noise.  I found myself consuming media at an alarming rate.  I was constantly distracted, unable to simply do one thing at a time.  I was always quilting and listening to an audiobook, working and listening to music, folding clothes and watching a TV show.  I forgot the value of silence, of simply doing one thing at a time and dedicating all my energy to it.  We live in a busy and distracted society.  We welcome the extra noise.  There is always another podcast to listen to or another video that needs to be watched.  Silence becomes uncomfortable, focusing on one thing becomes three things too few.  Maybe it's just me.  Maybe I am the only one who has been struggling with this of late, the only one who has done so much listening, but little actual hearing.  

When I worked as a camp counselor we had 3-4 weeks of staff training at the beginning of the summer.  One of the last things we did during this time was a “Solo.” We got sent into the wilderness with our pen, bible, journal, water, a tarp for shelter, and a radio in case there was an emergency.  There we remained for 24-36 hours fasting, praying, reading, and preparing for the weeks ahead of us.  I truly treasured this time free of distractions out in the beauty of creation, a time of quiet.  It helped me understand all those times in scripture when Jesus withdrew to desolate places to pray, to be away from the noise of the crowds to commune with his Father in heaven.  The Father was always with him and yet he still withdrew.  If Jesus needed this time free of distractions how much more do I need it?

At this stage in my life I cannot regularly disappear into the mountains to be with the Lord, but I can reduce the noise in my everyday life.  I can turn off my phone in the morning and read the word.  I can turn off the music and pray in silence.  In the silence, my need for God stares me in the face.  It no longer becomes something I can ignore or drown out.  There, confronted with my weakness, the Lord lends me His strength.  I want 2025 to be a year of quiet.  Not quiet for its own sake but a quiet that reminds me of my need and leads my heart to dependency on Christ.  A dependency that I take into my everyday life and every decision I make.  So here’s to 2025 a year of dependency, a year of truly hearing, a year of quiet.