I love to talk. That's why I married a man of few words ... a guy who likes action. Bill can paint the house, mow our five acres of pasture and drive to the "other Washington" in the time it takes me to get to the point of a conversation.
Which is exactly my point. I want to bend his ear when I have his full attention.
So, when I found him sitting on the couch watching TV the other day, I thought "Carpe Diem!" It's short for "This is almost as good as shoe shopping!", and my opportunity to have a one-on-one conversation ... or at least a one-sided one.
I quickly pulled a chair closer. Time was of the essence, and as my tale unfolded, his eyes widened, his breath quickened. Oh! It was obvious he was clinging to every word.
But when he suddenly shouted, "Yahoo! We're going into overtime," I knew he wasn't talking about my chit chat. Instead, the commercials had ended, and the basketball game was silently in full play. I had a feeling that my husband hadn't heard a word that I'd said.
I have to admit that I've been guilty of the same thing; not listening when someone is trying to talk to me. In a world of cellphones, text messaging and Facebook, it's common to multitask constantly. Being busy without a moment to spare is the norm.
There was a time early in my career track that I was running in every direction and hardly pausing to take a breath. Trying to accomplish so much felt overwhelming, and more than once I had called out to God for encouragement. I'd tell him in hurried prayers that if he wanted me to continue toward a job in broadcast journalism while juggling family, college and work, then I needed to know I was on the right path. Otherwise, I was about to give up.
Then the unexpected happened.
It was before social media when a letter came from a friend across the state, one I hadn't connected with in close to a year. Even so, the timely words on the handwritten page grabbed my heart. In fact, I was shocked.
She wrote that in prayer one morning she felt that God had spoken to her, and it was important to pass it on. The message read like this, "Tell Lucy that she needs to slow down. I want to encourage her, but she is neither hearing nor listening to me."
The words stopped me in my tracks. Could it be in our day that the God of Moses and Elijah would speak to us if we'd only stop to listen? The idea was unfathomable.
If this concept is hard for you to believe, I can totally understand. Back then it would have been for me too, except I knew what I'd silently been pleading for as I multitasked through my day.
I took the message to heart and from that moment on, I've met with God most mornings and together we've started our day. This quiet time has been invaluable over the years; silent moments spent one-on-one with God, reading the Bible and listening for his voice. A time free of distractions and focused only on
him.
It isn't easy to add one more "meeting" in an already busy day, but I'd like to recommend it. Because when you need answers, or direction in your life, our omnipresent God can supply all your needs ... including encouragement.
He only asks for one thing: "Be still, and know that I am God." (Psalm 46:10)