If you are my Facebook friend, you may have seen my status updates about a Season of Quiet. This is my original idea from about 4 years ago when I turned off the car radio for the days leading up to Easter (sometimes referred to as Lent or the Lenten Season). I am not Catholic, but I see and have experienced benefits to the rituals my Catholic friends practice during Lent. I have found the 40 or so days in this season to be a time of quiet focus and transformation of heart. It prepares me to more fully embrace and appreciate the true meaning of Easter by the time I'm worshipping on Easter Sunday.
You will find that this is a spiritual journey for me, but not necessarily religious as each day's goal for seeking quiet is personal to me and not according to the creed or doctrine of a church. You may find that some days I just need encouragement or to be in the Word, so I will only approach that as the suggestion for quietness.
I practice my own version of "fasting" and sacrifice, finding different things in my life that turn me to God when I give them up. This year I decided to take things a step further and really look for more of the quietness that I first experienced when I gave up radio. I'd like to share those things with you here in this blog. Maybe you will find a shared experience helpful in finding some quiet in your life as well.
To review, Day 1(Ash Wednesday) of Season of Quiet started with my official (now ceremonial) turning off of the car radio. This is really easy for me now, since I have really never gone back to being a radio listener. I do enjoy the occasional uplifting music on some of the Christian music stations, but mostly I find the FM stations seem very loud now and the AM talk stations stir up my inner quietness too much. Try just turning down the volume during your morning commute as a start. Even if you don't work and are just running errands. Crack the window and hear the church bells as you drive through downtown anywhere. Encourage your children to listen for the signs of spring (birds, wind, rain, etc.) Talk to God. Make your mental checklist of most important tasks for the day. All without the noise of ads, depressing news, and loud DJ's talking over your favorite song!
Day 2 of Season of Quiet continued with getting up 30 minutes earlier to start the day. OK, those of you who know me, can you say...wow?! I struggle to not hit the snooze button on most days. Not a "morning person"here. However, sometimes the quietest part of the day is before dawn. Have you ever found that to be true? Try getting up with the sun on your next beach vacation. The waves crashing on the shore even seem to add to the quiet. I prayerfully approached this the night before and found myself looking forward to seeing what God had in store for me when the alarm sounded. I don't know if I can turn rising early into a habit, but today the payoff was worth it! Dropped off my little kid in plenty of time to eat breakfast with her class (so much better without the rushing). Then my big kid and I had time before the first bell rang to talk about one of her fave subjects - Heaven. Had my quiet time with God in the car before getting to my desk on time. What a great start to the day! This is where the quiet is...this is where we find LIFE!
Now Day 3 of Season of Quiet is going to be an even bigger challenge than getting up a few minutes earlier. I don't know when exactly I became addicted to caffeine, but there it is in truth. Coffee, lattes, and diet cola all often "get me through the day". Caffeine's a drug and I'm kicking it to the curb, Lord help me. I plan to sub hot herbal tea (naturally decaf) for the warm drinks and water for the colas. So, how does this add to the quiet you say? Better sleep for one. Focus on good health for another (trickle down effects from this I hope). Lots of Prayer. We'll see what else, but this one will force me to turn to my Source of true strength.
I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13 (NIV)
Check back tomorrow for an update. Hope you are enjoying quiet moments where you find them. Comments welcome and appreciated!
No comments:
Post a Comment