silence

iPods, laptops, elevator music, car CD players, generic muzak... is there anywhere that you can go for a little silence these days?

And if there were, would we actually want it?

This week I was at a staff retreat and we spent one day taking three separate SILENT retreats. I was forced to spend 6 hours quiet for one day. SIX HOURS?! How did I survive?!

Quite well, actually.

I heard from Jesus. I dreamed for campus. I recognized how exhausted my body was. I saw beauty in the world around me. I mourned the way evil had rocked my life and the lives of those I love. I recognized bad patterns in my life and the way I use my time.

Without my mp3 player, March Madness or Spring Training I was forced to look at myself. Some of what I saw was ugly, some was beautiful, some was just downright hilarious.

Of course that was the point of the exercise and that is the role of silence in our lives.

So friends join me! Try taking some time each day to stop and be quiet.