Silence

     What is silence? A dictionary would probably define it as the absence of sound. A basketball player might say it's when they're about to shoot for a winning free throw and everything around them gets drowned out. If you asked me on a day like toady I would probably say that that it does not exist. Between all of the work, relationships, music, movies, cars etc... There is no silence. Even when we sleep many of our bodies are so unused to silence that we need fans to make noise and help us sleep.
      What would you do with a moment of silence? God wants to have a relationship with us, He loves us, he cares for us, he listens to our hearts and our words lifted up in prayer, but do we ever take the time to sit and listen to what he has to say? what he has in store for our lives? Do we ever REALLY leave a moment of silence in our day to just sit and listen to God? More often than not I would say that we don't; even when we take the time to pray. Prayer works kinda like a walkie-talkie, it is a two-way form of communication between you and God, but if you are constantly talking into a walkie-talkie you can't here the person on the other side. It is the same way with God, if we are constantly the ones doing the talking, then how are we ever going to be able to hear what he has to say? It is in our times of silence that we can truly hear God. In my last post I talked about the wait. Part of that wait is allowing yourself to have times of silence, to sit and listen to what God has to say. So turn off the radio, shut off the fan, close the door, heck you can even go use one of the sound proof booths at best buy if thats what you really need. But let's spend some time in silence and listen to God's plan for our lives, and if you are one of those people that can't stand silence then let God be your noise.

The Wait

This week has been very interesting and confusing. I went from being single to being in a relationship to being single again in the period of 5 days. Why all the change? you might ask. Well to be honest I don't really know either. I had grown very close to a person in a very short amount of time and we both agreed that it would be a good for to date, so I asked her parents' permission and then I asked her out. Expectedly she said yes. The next day was busy for both of us so we only hung out in the evening. The following day however is when things started to change. She started feeling overwhelmed by the whole dating aspect and apparently something changed in her that made her not like me any more. In a way I view what happened as an answer to prayer. I had been praying the entire week that if this relationship was not God's will, that he would show me in some way. I guess I just wasn't expecting the way that he chose to show me his will because I am still confused even a day later.

This is where the title of my post comes in. If we had gone through the wait and built up the friendship more before we started "dating" would things have turned out differently? Would it have been worth the wait? To be honest I really don't know the answer to this question. I have always had a struggle in determining God's will when it comes to relationships and now I wonder, would it be worth the wait to just sit and watch God's plan unfold instead of constantly seeking out my own way? I honestly think it would. After all the failures that I've faced when it comes to relationships, I'm ready and willing to take the wait. Now the question comes in, will you? It doesn't have to be about relationships, it could be waiting for finances, waiting for healing, waiting for comfort, or just plain waiting in line, but are you ready to sit back and wait for God's will to unfold in your life.  While I realize the verse is over used  Jeremiah 29:11 pretty much sums it up "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." I have a hope and a future...Thats something I need to remember as I take the challenge of The Wait and I hope that those of you who take on this challenge with me will as well.