PEACE AND QUIET

Dear Abby,

I grew up in a home with two brothers and two sisters. I shared a bedroom with both sisters. We shared one small closet and had maybe two drawers each for clothes. There was one bathroom for seven people to share! I was always trying to find a place for peace and quiet. I never did like noise and still have a low tolerance for anything loud. I avoid large crowds especially the day after Thanksgiving when all of America is at the mall! (You may or may not be there yourself). I used to climb trees or go to my room at night when everyone else was watching television just to have peace and quiet.

Yours is a different world than mine. The world has become much noisier since my childhood. There are so many distractions now (also known as computers, iPads, iPhones, iPods, Kindle, etc.). It is much more difficult now than it was then to find a time in your life for quietness. Even in church you can hear a phone ring and occasionally someone will even answer it!

Abby, in order to have a quietness in your spirit, you will have to find some time away from distractions and noise. I have come to appreciate the place computers have in our world along with some of the above mentioned electronics. However, good things can become the enemy of great things. There are some things that are only to be obtained in a place of quietness. The Lord himself had to slip away from crowds to get alone and get refreshed. I am really concerned that all of these "distractions" are going to become escape hatches that take people completely away from reality. It is hard to hear the voice of God when we are tuning Him out with everything else.

If you are to come to recognize the voice of God speaking to you, you must allow yourself the luxury of getting away from entertainment and information overload. "In quietness and confidence shall be your strength." (ISA. 30:15). May the Lord watch between you and me when we are absent one from the other. I love you very much.

Grammy