Beautiful Silence

Quiet.  My house is quiet.  Yes, that's right.  My.  house.  is.  quiet.  I hear a light, drizzle of rain falling on the roof; birds calling to one another from tree to tree; the quiet hum of our refrigerator.  It's an unusual moment -- one with which I am not very familiar.  I am tempted to turn on some music...to shut out the stillness...to hush the quietness.  But instead, I am learning to enjoy this unfamiliar, yet beautiful, silence. 

Typically, my days are filled with noise -- children laughing, children fighting, children talking, children crying, music, singing, toy pianos, electronic drums, etc... I am used to hearing noise all day long.  It usually doesn't bother me.  In fact, I like a little bit of noise.  I even sleep better with background noise, like the quiet whirring of a fan or the air conditioner.  The only time I really need quiet is when I am trying to study or concentrate on something.  Like the other day, when I needed to put my Bible study lesson together, I needed quiet.  I didn't get it.  I put in my order, but what I received was quiet with a few sides of "Mommy, will you...  Mommy, can you...  Mommy, watch this!"  That's just the way it goes in our house.  And I wouldn't have it any other way.

But right now, I am enjoying these moments. Jacob is away on an overnight trip with his grandparents.  Annabelle is taking a nap.  And I have a few quiet moments all to myself.  All is well.

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I typed this a couple weeks ago, but forgot about it and never published it.  It's funny to me now.  There hasn't been a moment of silence since.  :) 

Last Wednesday, on the way to church, the kids were being a little more loud than usual.  Annabelle hadn't had a nap, which only added to the hectic nature of our day.  After being in the car for only a couple minutes, I turned the radio down longing for a few peaceful moments.  Jacob immediately shouted, "I can't hear the music!"  We had been listening to the songs he's learning in children's choir, which just happen to be contemporary versions of old hymns.  "Jacob," I said quietly, "I just need a minute of peace.  I haven't had any peace today."  Of course, Jacob had a very quick response.  "But, Mommy, this music is peaceful," he said.  I asked him what made the music peaceful.  He replied, "What a Friend We Have in Jesus is peaceful...the words...and the music..."  Well, perhaps he was partly right, but at that moment, what I really wanted was peace...and quiet.