Whisper

I love hammocks.  I have always dreamed of having one in my backyard, picturing myself sipping lemonade and reading a book, while snuggling one of my children, all wrapped up in a hammock.  It’s dreamy and summery and a bit idyllic—the thought of a hammock.  I’m a simple girl, really. 

Our backyard lacks the trees to own a traditional hammock, so I let go of my little dream.  But recently, I went to a friend’s home, and she had a free-standing beauty.  As soon as I saw it, I practically dived into it, right there, high heels and all, and settled myself into it .  Immediately I was enveloped by a feeling of well-being.  A few weeks later, a hammock arrived at my door, given to me by my friend, who told me I seemed so incredibly happy in that hammock that she bought me one!

After Doug set it up, I gave it a spin.  As my body relaxed into it’s grip, I felt my mind and spirit settle down a bit.  I began to become aware of sounds all around me that I hadn’t even noticed before—the whisper of the wind through the trees, the songs of the birds, flittering and singing all around me, the shuffling of the squirrels along the leaf-laden ground, the sound of the fan whirring in our bedroom, the faint noises of cars along the roads.  All of these sounds had been there of course, but I don’t think I was aware of any of them until I lay there, present and joy-filled in my new hammock.

One of my favorite passages is tucked away in 1 Kings 19:11-12:

“The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”  Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind.  After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.  After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire.  And after the fire came a gentle whisper…”

The voice of God was in the whisper.  God is always speaking to us.  He is moving.  He is at work.  He is constantly pursuing relationship with us, but all the other sounds of our lives can so easily drown out His voice. 

We can’t hear whispers if we don’t tune in and listen. 

I don’t want to miss the things He wants to say to me because I am too pre-occupied with the strong winds, earthquakes and fires of my life.   I want to settle down, get quiet, and tune into the whisper of my God…

Love,

Christy