QUIET ZONE

Just outside the sanctuary -- our 24/7 poster on a sign that says, "QUIET ZONE -- Please keep conversations and noise outside this area." Funny how scarce quiet or even more so, silence, is today . . . even in church, where almost every moment of even the services are programmed with vocal or instrumental music, media with soundtracks, preaching, sharing, announcements, and in case there is a moment of silence here and there . . . cell phones going off! The stillness is almost foreign, because we are not used to the "emptyness" of it, and yet when we can really quiet OURSELVES, and enter in, it is rich and full. It creates space for us to begin to be able to hear our own thoughts, questions, concerns; and to hear the heart of God speaking in between the pauses.
And if we're honest, we'd have to admit that at times we are reluctant to enter into the silence, because deep down we agree with Pink, who says, "the silence scares me because it shouts the truth."
Maybe that is why we need the reminder and encouragement to enter into the quiet zone, risky as it may be.