The Sounds of...Nothing

A couple of mornings ago I awoke on my own at 5 am. I listened for a couple of seconds and then I heard...

Nothing

Ahhh...the sounds of quiet. You might think that because I'm quite a talker and rather loud (it's a Hollcraft trait -we're all LOUD!), that I must like a lot of noise. No. I  love quiet and solitude. Perhaps it's because I get so little of it. But at 5 am it was so quiet - no traffic sounds in my neighborhood or yard equipment whirring and buzzing, no dishwasher or washing machine shaking and rattling, no sprinklers twinkling water around, and mostly, no people noises. Not even Tim softly snoring, breathing loudly, or mumbling about chemistry assignments (Tim really never leaves his work entirely at school!).

It was glorious. I thought about this period of silence I was enjoying. I began to think about people who had needs that I knew of and prayed for them. I told God that I was all His today and that He could use me in anyway He wanted. I knew that would invariably mean lots of dishes, laundry, multiple directions to many little children about various chores, many encouragements to "be kind," "stop fighting," "leave her alone!," correcting - verbally and otherwise-undesirable attitudes, unpleasant deeds, and general disobedience, lots of phone calls to check off items on my "to do" list, various trips to church for co-op lessons and teaching my Spanish class, picking up many little toys that find their way into crevices and nooks ALL AROUND my house, preparing a multitude of snacks and meals, reading plenty of stories, books, and instructions about school assignments, giving tickles, hugs, kisses and gentle pats and rubs to just about everybody (including Tim - he's not overly affectionate but I know he doesn't like being left out!), cleaning up more spills than I care to count, and shopping at various stores for fabulous deals and returning various items that weren't such fabulous deals, praying here and there for people and situations that come to mind, and perhaps catching in about 15-20 minutes of the book I'm currently reading about the Holy Spirit by Chuck Swindoll (SO inspiring!), and on and on and on. Nothing glamorous. Just my attempt at being faithful to God and my husband and children.

I have so much activity and NOISE in my day, everyday, all day long. I felt that God awoke me early, and refreshed I might add, just to draw me near to himself and enjoy my attention. God doesn't need my attention, but He's worthy of it. He deserves the very best part of my day - my waking moments that I savor before the day begins. I found that I started my morning quite joyful and the day went fairly well. At the end of my day as I lay in bed relaxing and letting the days' events float away, I thought about my Friend again. "You are so good God. Thank you." And with that, I drifted off to a solid nights' sleep again. I'm confident that more likely than not, God did use me as He saw fit. I felt His pleasure at a day lived well. I need to make adjustments, particularly to correcting my children gently and patiently, but overall I felt peace as I drifted off to sleep.

I have a great life.