Silence
I love the silence after a freshly fallen snow, that all enveloping quiet that penetrates to the very soul. I am awed. I am humbled. I am speechless. I am silent. There are no other distractions... only communion with God.
"Silence" - 9"x 12" - Oil
"Silence is frightening because it strips us as nothing else does, throwing us upon the stark realities of our life."
-Dallas Willard-
Below are some extraordinary thoughts excerpted from: The Reading Room - water's edge
We have an infinite void in our hearts that we attempt to fill with noise, people, busyness, possessions, and other finite things. This is a major sickness in our culture.
We are addicted to noise. We need noise. We've got to have noise. Silence steals away the distractions of life which anesthetize us from the feeling that our lives are still empty. Noise helps us live on the banks of denial. Noise keeps us concentrated on something else...anything else.
Silence is the practice of quieting every voice, including our own inner and outer voices. Silence means being still so that we can hear the Voice that searches our hearts and minds. We must quiet our own hearts and mouths if we are to be able to listen to the voice of God.
Solitude and silence, combined with an engaged mind, are practices that can open our lives up to the grace of God. God says, "Be still, and know that I am God". In solitude and silence, and with a mind actively waiting on God, we will be enabled to view life as God reveals it to us. We will consider our actions and the motives behind them. We will consider the actions of others and allow God to season our response with compassion and forgiveness because we first recognize the compassion and forgiveness God has shown to us.
Blessings to each of you this Christmas.
Labels: Inspirational
posted by john pototschnik at
11:46 AM
2 Comments:
John,
I enjoyed this blog. It reminded me of my latest post and pictures on my blog of our white Christmas this year. We woke up that morning and after the initial sleepy eyes and "Wow!" of gifts under the tree, I said I had one more surprise. I turned out the lights and led the family to the window where snow was falling on a blanket of white in the yard. It looked like a black and white photo that someone had added color to- only in the red of the ribbon on the porch decorations. It was beautiful! The family was in awe. The weatherman had been wrong, but I found out that a little girl in our church (whose mother had just up and left her family this year), had prayed Christmas Eve night that it would snow on Christmas. Her Dad said that she and her brother ran past the bikes that the church had gotton them and he had put under the tree, and just ran outside, "It's snowing!" Wow...
You know, like I posted on my blog, God says in Psalm 147 "He gives snow like wool." And wool makes me think of grace, to cover our sins and heal our hearts.
Glad you are doing well. I have painted one picture lately. That is pitiful, I know, but a feat for my schedule!
I look forward to studying with you all in April.
God bless!
Susan Patton
Thanks for sharing that, Susan. Beautiful!
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