Quietness

There is something to appreciate about quietness.  I used to be a person who struggled being in the quiet.  And for anyone who knows me, I'm quite the talker.  Ask my boyfriend! :)   You know those silent retreats - I always thought I'd go c-r-a-z-y!  In the past few weeks, I've found myself

STARVING -

for quiet.  

Living where I also work is a big challenge right now.  No where, I mean no where, in the entire building can you find quiet at any time day or night.  It has affected my sleep since Christmas, and has even affected my work productivity.  We all know (as is normal for most people), that once sleep is affected, that affect starts spreading like wildfire to other areas of life.  And in the words of one of my four bosses today..."you've been sick all winter."  Hmm...  Connection.  Ding-ding.

This week I've been blessed to dog sit, which means the extra blessing of being in a home.  This week I've also been sick.  I've been relishing in the quietness here.  While the dogs do like to greet anyone passing by (which with the nice weather this week means lots of people walking, biking, etc.), there's still an amazing quiet atmosphere.  It's been great to have noise (TV, music) if I want, and turn it off when I don't want it.  At first, I was frustrated I was sick, yet thankful to be sick while in an actual home.  I've been able to heat up soup and hot tea in the microwave without having to get all dressed and face everyone in the cafe and hall while being sick.  I've been able to actually sleep hard.  In fact, the first day I was here - that is all I did!  I was really sick, but also am really exhausted from a high stress level at work.

I think I forgot what this is like.  Today I attempted to enter back into the world of work.  Great thing - I got to attend a conference!  This afternoon, I came home from the conference and walked into the quietness, and realized it as that - QUIETNESS!!  Wow.  I love it! 

There is so much noise in my life where I live and work - and it's constant.  It makes me think - what other noise is there in my life and what of this is necessary noise and what must go?  How do we get rid of noise that is distracting us from useful stuff?  Sure sleep for me, but what about quietness to hear the Lord's voice, to be able to be "off" from people, or to be able to just relax?  We all have noise in our lives.  How do we find that quietness in our lives?  What steps do we need to take to get that quietness?  What do we need to pray in boldness for the Lord's provision for quietness?

The most challenging questions:

 What do we need to pray for boldness in so that we can 

eliminate the amount of high noise in our 

life - and then what actions must we take?