The sound of silence
This morning little Sophie and I stepped outside as the sun was peeping over Hal’s cow pasture. The cows had already risen for the day and were contentedly grazing on the rich grasses. Later in the day, they will lie in rest as they contentedly chew their cuds.
There is a promise in the air of a bright and quiet day.
Somehow there seems to be something different about today than other recent mornings. I could hear a wren chirping under the carport and the sweet notes of a mockingbird’s song wafting from an oak tree. In the distance, I could hear the crowing of a neighbor’s pet rooster. A noisy vehicle passed along the road causing Sophie to warn the occupants to keep going.
Suddenly it occurred to me I was hearing the sounds in God’s silence for the first time in days.
The strident noise of two types of Cicadas by the millions with their cacophony of noises was silent. I took the opportunity of the moment to move to a chair on the patio where I pulled the bill of my cap down over my eyes and leaned back to enjoy being in tune with God’s creation.
I spent the next hour in the warmth of the morning sun meditating on the wonders of nature as the morning slipped by. One of my daughters once observed much of my writings are based upon nature. The answer to her unspoken question is simple-at least to me.
The first information we have about the beginning of the world and the environment in which we exist comes with the assertion that in the beginning God “created the heavens and the earth.” Creation theologians like to say that was done “Ex nihilo”. That simply means God took nothing and made something good out of it. The full story of how God did this is revealed in the beginning chapters of the book of Genesis.
God’s acts of creation were a six-step process with each building upon the previous ones. At the close of each step, the writer informs us that God looked on his handiwork and declared that it was good. After the creative work was complete “God rested.” The final and greatest of creation was man to rule over the world. But it is important to note not only did the creator breathe life into Adam and Eve, but he also placed a constant recurring life in all that he created. I see that life every day in nature.
Sometimes it takes the silence of the morning for God’s message to come through loud and clear.
