Quiet Calm

It is 7:01 am, on Saturday. I have been up for two hours. My brain did not get the message that it is Saturday and we should sleep in. My body is like, come on! What is your deal? It really isn't that bad; it is just moderately annoying.

However, in the midst of being awake so early there are several things I have noticed. One, it is QUIET. There have been no cars, Gwen and Brock's buses are still silent in their drive way, no one has gotten up to use the potty (aside from me), the TV isn't on and the list could go on. I like this quietness. My world is typically inundated with noise. Everything from music playing to students talking and telephones ringing to bus air brakes whistling are a typical part of the noise in my world, but not this morning. This morning it has just been the constant low hum of the fan and my own thoughts.

Calm is the second thing I noticed. Things are still and not rushed. Life is often very fast and stressful, but this morning has been calm and slow. I have yet to get out of bed, it is still fairly dark out. It is calm. There is no hurry to get a shower and get out the door. The rest of the world still seems to be dozing.

In the calm and the quiet, I believe God becomes more real. This morning as I laid in bed, I was reflecting over the past nine years. Today is Homecoming at IWU and nine years ago was my first Homecoming experience there (so the number nine wasn't totally random). Many things have changed, both good and bad. I have lived in a lot of places: two dorms, two apartments, two parsonages, one loft, and three houses. Yes, you read that correctly, in nine years I have lived in ten different locations. God has always faithfully provided a place for me to live, even when I had no money and sometimes had no job. In the past nine years, I have met a lot of very interesting people. I am fortunate enough to say that some of them will remain close friends for the rest of my life. I am also lucky to say that I learned a lot of things from some of those people who just were here for a season. I have had the privilege in the past nine years to work for IWU, the UMC, Logansport Community Schools, Fort Wayne Community Schools, Nesting Doves, The YMCA, and now Whitko Community Schools. God showed up in different ways in each of these places, but all of it started with being taught at IWU to be open to that. I heard God saying, all of this has been a part of my plan...  I could go on and on about how the past nine years have been change after change, but I won't.

This morning in the quiet and calm that only early mornings can truly provide, I realized, as I reflected, that I need to take more time to be quiet. I need to take more time to be intentionally calm, to think about all the things in life. But more importantly, I need to remember to take time to be quiet and listen for God's still small voice.