The Classroom Of Silence

Are you too busy?

At the end of the day do you just feel exhausted? Do you say, “yes”, to more things than you should?

Do you go, go, go until you want to drop….and perhaps cry?

Do you pray?

I’ve been thinking about these things lately as I just finished a book called, “I Heard God Laugh” by Matthew Kelly. I’ve read several books by this wonderful author. In this particular book he is laying out a simple plan for how to pray if you’ve never known how to do this.

One of the steps he mentions is about allowing yourself to slow down and enter “the classroom of silence”.

I just loved that term as we can learn so much when we enter into a state of quiet and listening to what God might want to say to us.

Those of us who pray regularly might have a lot to say to God. “I want this and this and this to happen”. “I need this and this and this from you, God”.

But if one allows themselves to enter ‘the classroom of silence’ they might learn what God wants ….from them!

Often, I find myself praying while driving and allowing my mind to stray away from my prayers to things like…errands I will be doing next. And even if I stop what I’m doing at home and sit down to pray I can find my mind disengaging while I look around the room and think things like, “I think it’s time to change out the artwork” or “I wonder what I’ll make for lunch”.

These are scary times. I never could have predicted that we’d be entering a pandemic ….let alone a FOURTH WAVE!

The hurricanes/weather patterns are brutal, political leaders don’t give us peace of mind, we read about murders, and fires, and prejudice and more terrible things than I want to even think about here.

What I want is peace. And health for myself and those I love. But it’s hard to find peace and a healthy spirit when I feel alone and scared.

So I go to my ‘inner room’ with ‘just God’ and try and be still. In Matthew 11, 28-30 God says, …..

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Let’s slow down a bit today and for the rest of the week. Let’s enter the classroom of silence when we wake up or whatever time works for us and ask this simple question, “ What would you like from me today, Lord?”

Let’s find rest for our souls.

And let us find something to smile about each day…..