Skip to main content

It's So Quiet I Can Hear Myself Think

Quiet.

It's been so quiet.

For someone who has been in youth ministry for almost 20 years, quiet is not something I am accustomed to. Not at work and not even at home. Because, oh yeah, my own children are exceptional at being loud. Even when I am alone with just one of them, I sometimes have to remind them that I'm not deaf yet....despite growing up on 80's rock.

Low-talkers my family is not.

So you'll forgive me if I tell you that peace and quiet is not something I have experienced a lot of. And now that it has been exceptionally quiet, I'll admit I'm not sure it's always peaceful.

See, I ask a lot of questions in conversations. This is a habit people down't always admire in me. Just ask my teenage daughter, who is simply trying to tell me a little story. But I want the details! Which friend made the comment? What did their face look like when they said that? Where were you standing?

It's also how I read the Bible. I read these stories and I want to know what happens in between the verses. You know, what are the little details in between the details they give us? Because sometimes those little details can actually be big details.

I remain in the middle of this journey with God, much like each one of you. My jobless summer adventure continues. It's not that I haven't seen God work. In some amazing ways even. Don't get me wrong. I am very thankful for how God has provided and I have seen Him getting stuff done.

And yet...

It's been so quiet I can hear myself think. That's not a complaint you hear from very many fathers. But I have had time and space to think. And ask questions.

Why now?
Why this adventure?
Why me?
Why reveal only part of the plan at a time?

I introspect, with one eye on what I can learn from this entire process, and one eye on the finish line. And I don't even mean the super spiritual finish line, as if I've finished the race. As if!

I want to spy the line that starts the next part of my life. I want to see this adventure end.

But perhaps that is part of my problem. If I see this particular adventure end, will I come to believe that I have learned that lesson and can move on? Will I set these lessons aside, like a book I've just finished, only to select the next reading material, forgetting what I've just read.

God knows me best and He knows the potential for all of that to happen. Perhaps God has me right where He wants me. Perhaps it's quiet so I can learn the lesson. Maybe even until I learn the lesson.

I'm listening God.

So the quiet continues.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Studies on the Go...Genesis

To be honest, I had not heard of Studies On The Go before being offered a review copy by my god friends at Youth Worker. But since I’m always looking out for study ideas, I said yes to this opportunity. Studies On The Go by Laurie Polich-Short has 30 studies. This particular edition is on the book of Genesis. Any book of the Bible can be daunting when you’re trying to interest and impact teenagers. But Genesis increases that difficulty due to the many questions that arise on the topic of creation. On top of that, you have the many stories of questionable characters that we often call heroes of the faith. Each study comes with great questions, not mindless Sunday School questions where every answer is Jesus. They also come with an optional activity to take the lesson a step further and create true impact. Add to that a weekly plan for students to go deeper and you have a winner of a study in one little book. If all the book studies are as well done as this one, I’d ...

What Are You Capable Of?

I fancy myself to be just like Batman...without the money, the cave, the vendetta, the car and the cool belt. Other than that, we're pretty much the same guy. Does it help my case that I have a boy wonder? It's my son, but I'd take him over a dude in green tights any day. I've also imagined myself to be similar to Superman...you know, but without the super strength, speed, or that thing he can do with his eyes. Oh, and I'm also not from another planet. But he was a reporter and I like to write, though that hasn't been proven much by my blog. At least, not compared to what I used to write. The first time I write this post, it sounded like an apology. But that's not really the message I want to convey. Yes, I wish I were posting more. I also wish I had super strength or a cool utility belt, but those things aren't happening right now either. Maybe some day . The truth is I have been keeping busy. I'm not sitting back, sipping lemonade. I've never c...

The Facebook Maybe

Granted, I'm a pastor. I have Type-A tendencies. Ok, my tendencies border on freakish OCD behavior patterns, but... Few things bother me more than the Facebook 'maybe'. I suppose I could go on and on about the grey areas of our society and the refusal of people to accept absolute standards. I could discuss the great need of people to accept that what is wrong for one person is likely wrong for everyone. I should certainly be concerned about mentioning that someone might have sin in their life. But I don't believe the Facebook 'maybe' is quite sin. Perhaps if I were coming up with new sins, I would add this to the list. But alas... Some might think the Facebook 'maybe' did not exist prior to the Internet, but they would be wrong. When I was in high school and asked a girl out on a date, I would normally be told that if they had no other plans, if nobody else called them, if there was nothing good on television and their hair did not need washing, then per...