Silence is Golden {Kettle Club Kickoff!}

*THIS POST WAS WRITTEN BY VICTORIA OF LET THE SON SHINE

As a young mother in a new town, I looked at my local book store’s Story Time hour as if it were my only source of sanity in a week otherwise filled with whining and tantrums of this sort or that…and then there were the kids to take care of, too. I had no idea who I was, or what I was good for, so Story Time was my thing. My kids were better behaved than the other little ones there, and I was always the youngest mom in the room.

I rocked.

Who cared that the other moms were on a first name basis and their kids played with each other? Who noticed that I sat silently chewing my inner cheek in absolute dread over the notion that someone might speak to me? Who really wanted to have to socialize with total strangers simply because they happened to be sharing a similar moment in life?

I did. Desperately.

I wanted to be where everybody—or at least somebody—knew my name.
Retreating into myself was the saddest sort of silence this side of losing a loved one.
All I longed for was to hear that I was not alone in my loneliness or in my life.

Somehow, in all my self-loathing glory, God saw fit to send me a beautiful gift in the form of a business card. The Lord had prompted another mother, enjoying the preciousness of Story Time with her kids, to invite me to a weekly brunch for mothers at a local church. It wasn’t her church, but it quickly became mine.

Each week hosted a new lesson from women who loved the Lord, but I was deaf to many of the words of wisdom offered. Submission? Shah—right. Not to mention the crazy concept of this thing they called “quiet time”. I mean, is this some sort of cruel joke on us younger moms? I barely remembered what quiet was, and these ladies wanted me to have extended periods of it. Daily. Too embarrassed by my lacking knowledge, I never asked anyone to explain. For years I just wondered and scoffed and went on my noisy way. {I’ve since learned the beauty of submission and the rewards of a heart rendered unto the Lord…but that’s a story for another time.}

God is still revealing my need for silence. I’m a total baby in the ways and wonders of a still heart in God’s powerful hands. Studying Scripture is wonderful, and fellowship with the King is divine, but being quiet before Him can’t be passed up. I am finding that our Father can say so much when we don’t say a thing. Oh, He can say whatever He wants, whenever, but in those times when we hush in humble homage and hope at His feet…in those moments, His voice is heard.

The Holy Spirit intercedes on our behalf and the Lord of Lords is pleased with our quiet offering of body, mind, and spirit.

We need more of that…more than we need to do the dishes and more than we need that morning run, coffee, shower, or (if you’re like me) that extra snooze or ten. We even need it more than we need to get the day’s post up on our blogs, or to see what our friends are sharing on theirs! Gasp. I know. Me too.

I bet you desire to be pleasing to the Lord every bit as much as I do. What’s more important for friends to have in common than loving Jesus? We can step out of our comfort zones and into obedience together, as sisters in Christ! A place for us ladies to encourage one another in our efforts and share in our growth, The Kettle Club is meant to help us turn the obvious love for blogging we all share—whether reading, writing, or both—into a tool that works in our favor and brings us further into His.

In addition to our overall goal of meeting with the Lord prior to sharing our thoughts with the blogging world, this month’s Kettle Club focus will have us coming into that devotional time with a quiet heart. Vocal prayers are certainly not prohibited during the month; silence will be an addition to our prayer lives, not a substitution.

Whatever time you can be quiet in God’s Presence, do. Whether daily, weekly, or every two days-three hours-and four minutes, your gift is His desire. Day or night, He wants time with you…being heard by you in ways ears just can’t do.

Over the next several weeks, let’s bring our quieted spirits to the Mercy Seat as often as we can. Our efforts are never unnoticed by our Faithful Father, so take heart when quiet seems out of reach…nothing is too wonderful for our God!

Come back on Monday, November 30th for questions to ponder and thoughts to discuss. You will be able to link up to your own stories of battling the noisy life, and see how your fellow Kettles fared as well. I’m so thankful to have you on this journey with me!

In our silent obedience we will bring praise to our Father and He will hear our prayers.
Don’t take my word for it—take His!

“Silence is praise to you, Zion-dwelling God;
And also obedience.
You hear the prayer in it all.”
(Psalm 65:1, The Message)