Noise

I believe whole-heartedly that as Americans we lead noisy lives.

I'm almost ashamed to admit that I've learned to live through the noise.

Screaming babies - I can tune them out.

Car horns/alarms, jet noise, traffic - I can sleep right through it

Music, people talking, etc. - I can read or work through it as if it isn't happening

I have a freakish need for quiet. Granted if you know me you know I don't operate out of that desire. Instead I fill my life with all kinds of noise: work, facebook, serving others, e*mails, screaming babies, television, sports, music, even the blogging world. I have a very noisy life. Every moment new noise comes our way. My brain functions just fine in the midst of

noise but the rest of me is SCREAMING for quiet.

I've been thinking and yes even meditating on noise a lot lately. How much it drains, distracts, and flat out drives me crazy. Yet I can't seem to stop myself from not only allowing it but creating it in my own life. Can we say character flaw?

I don't want to fill my life with superfluous noise. I don't want to spend my days so focused on the noises of this

world that I miss out on the noises that God is trying to whisper to me.

I stand behind the fact that other countries and other people groups just aren't nearly as noisy. Life in Honduras was hectic and crazy. It came with its fair share of noisy (I mean I did live in a house with 16 children!) but some how it was a different kind of noisy. I was able to meet with God in a way that I have to fight to find here in the states. Why is that?

Some of my favorite peaceful and non-noisy noises would have to be

crashing waves

rain on a tin roof

deep belly laughs

crickets

crackling of a fire

wind chimes

So today I am chewing on that and working to clear out some of the noise from my life.

I'm demanding more quietness. Shouldn't we all be working towards a much quieter life?