Update and Silence

An interesting 24 hours. That's all I have to say.

Okay, maybe not. Actually, it wasn't that interesting, just a lot of good things.

Yesterday, on Friday, I went to do some more flying. The last 3 times I have gone, all we have done is takeoffs and landings, which is great because those two things are kind of important. Anyway, last night, we did 3 takeoffs and landings. After the third one, my instructor told me to taxi back to the hanger. I knew what was coming... and I was excited.

Well, we got back there and he opened the door.
"All right, now go and fly 3 touch and gos by yourself."

With that, I taxied back to the runway, took off and flew alone for the first time. It was great! I flew the Cessna 150 around the traffic pattern, lined up with the runway and made a perfect landing... 4 times. It truly was a blessed night!

As for today, I slept in, made a table, started another project until the belt sander broke with no parts to fix it, switched my fishing rods back for summer fishing and then went out and used them. All in all, a good day.

I've been thinking about many things, as usual. One of them has been silence. We live in a world of noise. Even as I sit by the computer, the dryer is tumbling upstairs, the fan in the computer hums softly and my fingers press the keys down, but besides that, I hear no sound. Even that, to most people, is too quiet. How often do we have music on or the tv? Honestly, when was the last time you sat in a place where no sound could be heard?

"Is there such a place?" I can hear many people say.

We are conditioned, in our culture, to hate silence. If the silent prayer goes too long before the organ plays "Lord, Listen to you children praying" people start rustling around and a choir of coughs comense. If we are home alone, the radio is always on or the tv, even though we may not be listening or watching. We are conditioned to hate silence.

Silence is a scary place. In this place, our own minds speak louder than we ever could imagine. We visit every conversation and every thought from the day. We think about our problems and are forced to interact with our emotions. In silence, we truly see or hear who we are.

I have been thinking how a lack of silence affects our Christian walk with each other and God Almighty. Some wonder why we don't feel God and why we don't hear his voice and why we don't see people do mighty things in the name of Jesus. I think, much of it comes down to silence. We don't take the time to quiet our minds and our hearts to hear God's voice. We are too scared to enter that space for fear of what my own mind might convict me of and also what God might say to me.

The story of Elijah on Mt. Sinai is the most striking example. There was wind, an earthquake and fire but the Lord was in none of them. "And after the fire came a gentle whisper...Then a voice said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" (1 Kings 19:12-13).

Stories of silence are everywhere in scripture, but the ones that strike me most are the ones involving Jesus. How many times do the gospels tell us that Jesus went to a place of solitude to pray, or, he got up before the sunrise to go out and pray. My favorite example of this is in Luke 6:12. Read it sometime. Jesus, the Son of God Most High, goes out by himself, and prays all night... not a 5 minutes or 1 minute... but all night! This entire night of prayer is focused on who he should choose as apostles. The Son of God, Jesus Christ, stayed up all night praying about a decision he had to make! He spent hours in silence and meditation seeking the guidance of God, his Father.

What am I missing out on by cheating myself of the time of silence? What is God waiting to say to me, if only I take the time and listen?