Comfort in the Silence

Unfortunately it is not often I get to sit in silence.  I wake to an alarm, get out of bed to the hustle and bustle of a working spouse, 5 kids getting ready for school, 2 dogs with tails wagging and a boisterous stomach.  Then it's off to work were phone calls, emails, meetings and reports consume 8 hours in what seems like 15 minutes.  Back at home it's dinnertime - one of my favorite times of the day for sure, but it definitely cannot be described as silent.  Next comes practices,  games, meetings, grocery shopping, etc.  Maybe a half hour of reading or a soccer match on the tely; 2 oreos, a glass of milk, and my head hits the pillow exhausted. Lather, rinse and repeat...

With all the commotion of my life, when I am finally able to sit in silence for a few minutes I find myself a little uneasy with the inactivity - a restlessness is there that slowly flows into my thoughts, a feeling that I should be doing something.

Can it be that I am no longer comfortable in the Silence?

I can still remember the moment, for some reason it sticks out in my mind some 10 years later. I was on my first ever Christ Renews His Parish retreat, new to the parish.  An old nun comes in - Sister Rosario Delaney - and gives us her welcome.  She is well prepared, as always, and speaking in her Irish brogue reflects on the passage from 1st Kings 19 - the story of Elijah on Mt. Horeb, when God passes by, but is not in the earthquake, or the fire, or the howling wind.  God was in the gentle blowing, in the Silence.  In her wisdom she counsels us to find silence in our lives, and then we will see God, who is always passing by...

I've recently gone back to Eucharistic Adoration on a regular schedule.  The silence is pure gold.  I meet God there - in my thoughts, in His presence.  I find that I can ride in the car to and from work sometimes with the radio off, in silence, and it's getting more comfortable.  I'm trying 10 minutes of silence before bed every evening - won't say I'm batting 1000, but its not 100 either...

The world we live in just keeps creating more and more sources of noise.  My prayer for all of us today is that we find ways to filter it all out and in silence listen for that still, small voice of Our Lord calling out our name...

I think this 3 minute video from Matthew Kelly sums it up pretty well.  Click on the image below to watch.