How does silence sound?
Over the summer, my husband, daughter, and I traveled to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Several years had passed since we had spent time in this pristine place abounding in natural beauty.
Most of our experiences in the U.P involved attending Family Camp at our church camp. Situated on the shores of a lake and surrounded by towering trees, it feels a world away from the bustling, buzzing place we call home.
Life moves slower up there. And it was never so apparent as well as convicting as it was in July.
Unlike, life at camp, we were not keeping a schedule. There was nothing to distract from the reality of being unplugged. No cable. Limited Wi-Fi. Few cell phone towers.
And I confess, it frustrated me. Surprisingly.
How had I become so accustomed to constant connection? Where had I rooted my security?
Is God not bigger than a wireless connection or a close grocery store?
God spoke to me. In the silence:
As my eyes scanned the perfect stillness of the lake that lay in front of my feet.
When the towering branches formed a protective roof over our tent in the thunder storm.
During the rush of a million drops of water which attest to their Creator through their collective voices.
The languages spoken through the birds chirping into the quiet
I still love the hustle and bustle noises of people engaged in the diverse activity of this world.
But sometimes, we need to be reminded who called it into being. And listen to God speaking though it.
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Just beautiful (You took me right there with you). And so true.
Your FMF Neighbour #53
hi stephanie:) i’m your next door neighbor at FMF (#52) i enjoyed your post. it reminded me of the time we traveled from WI (where my husband is from) to philadelphia over the top of MI via ontario to visit a college friend of my husband’s many years ago. our kids were young. theirs were older (my husband married almost 10 years later than they did.) that is a part of the country that is unfamiliar to me so i enjoyed traveling that route. it was very interesting and pretty.
i can identify with your struggles. i miss wifi despite all the years i lived without it or computers. now that i blog, i like to get online and blog to help me blog and process things. of course, i don’t post everything i write down, but it help me think through a lot of things:)
nice to meet you today. have a great weekend.
Your beautiful descriptions allowed me to camp with you, Stephanie. Thank you for that little getaway as I begin my busy day💙
Oh, I want to go there so badly! Is God not bigger than a wireless connection? Yes, he is. YES, INDEED!
My Bible camp reminds me of that too.
“How had I become so accustomed to constant connection? Where had I rooted my security?”
Yeah, I don’t like those questions, which probably means I need to spend some time contemplating them. It’s so easy to get sucked into the rush, isn’t it?
The heading picture had me hooked (I love the UP!) and the epiphany is beautifully described.
#1 at FMF this week.
https://blessed-are-the-pure-of-heart.blogspot.com/2017/11/your-dying-spouse-403-end-of-despair-fmf.html
Actually the picture is the view from a house on the lake we stayed at when we were up there the second time but it captured the atmosphere up there. Complete serenity.