fighting toddlers. ringing cell phones (mine and his). email alerts. blaring kid shows on tv. talking baby dolls. dishwashers. dryers. the endless chatter in my brain.
although the sources may be different, i am sure that you have your own symphony of sounds that fill your life.
sometimes i just want to yell: stop!
give me peace. i am exhausted.
but in order to experience the peace, i must learn to listen. and for listening to occur, we have to be able to actually hear, focused and free from all that fights for our attention.
god, teach me to listen, with my ears and my being.
to you. to my children. to my husband. to my heart.
i need a break. from blogs. facebook. twitter. fox news.
i want to be reminded of quiet. allowing me to disconnect and ... be. be bored. be uncomfortable. i need to remove the instant stimulations. i need to unplug from the hectic, fast paced world that keeps me thinking that everything is important, and results in nothing being important.
i need to be conscious (and held responsible) of my habit to turn to tv or online connections to fill the void within me.
i need to set a better example for my children. i need to exercise my god-given creativity and encourage the same in my girls. i need to get outside more. i need to take better care of my body. i need to take better care of the time he has given me.
i am learning to cultivate simplicity:
"among the enemies to devotion none is so harmful as distractions.
whatever excites the curiosity, scatters the thoughts, disquiets the heart, absorbs the interests or shifts our life focus from the kingdom of god within us to the world around us—that is a distraction; and the world is full of them. our science-based civilization has given us many benefits but it has multiplied our distractions and so taken away far more than it has given….
the remedy for distractions is the same now as it was in earlier and simpler times: prayer, meditation and the cultivation of the inner life. the psalmist said “be still, and know,” and christ told us to enter into our closet, shut the door and pray.
it still works….
distractions must be conquered or they will conquer us. so let us cultivate simplicity; let us want fewer things; let us walk in the Spirit; let us fill our minds with the word of god and our hearts with praise. in that way we can live in peace even in such a distraught world as this. “peace I leave with you, my peace i give unto you.” (a.w. tozer)
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