Seeing The Good Around Me: Quiet

“Come with Me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” Mark 6:31

There are 2 words in this verse that I want to explore, and this week I am choosing “quiet”. I have been seeing a lot of this word recently and it is catching my attention.

I first started to clue in on the word “quiet” while reading Susan Cain’s book “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking”. I have always been described as quiet throughout school, and it was said in something of a derogatory way. Like I was quiet because I had nothing to say. This isn’t true, and I have since come to appreciate my quiet-ness in a crowd.

Most recently, though, I have been hearing about being quiet in the context of hearing God speak. I’ve heard this message a few times, so when I get those repeated lessons, I start to take notice.

I have seen more often than not in my life and in scripture that He speaks rather softly. Not timidly, but with this quiet strength. His words are strong, so His tone does not also need to be. But because he does not typically raise His voice, I don’t always hear Him through all the noise.

There is so much noise around me-some I have no control over but other noise that I seek. I will typically turn the TV on as soon as I get home then have it on until it’s time to go to bed. In my car, I usually have the radio on. When I get dressed in the morning, I listen to music. Silence is rare and my train of thought is pretty loud, so even without outside noise true silence takes a lot of work.

I think that the word “quiet” gets linked to things like peace and tranquility for a reason, just as “noise” gets linked to chaos. And, it seems like we are surrounded so much more by noise than quiet. Being around quiet usually involves removing yourself and a lot of work to keep out the noise.

Quiet, when it is there, is part of the good around me. In the quiet, I can hear clearly. I can reflect, see detail more fully, act instead of react, and I can hear my Heavenly Father. Since it isn’t something that falls naturally in my day, it requires a deliberate stealing away from all the noise. Making the effort to spend time in a quiet place recharges me to go back and face all the noise.