Surrendering Silence
11:30 pm on the first day
of the new year. 4 friends embraced each other outside of a 24 hour
Dillons. Tears ran down cheeks and hearts broke. 30 minutes prior they found out that their friend had lost her roommate in a car accident.
None of them had ever met the roommate, but their hearts broke anyways.
Maybe it was because she was too young to die. Or maybe because the
reality of the fragility of life can be a monster. Or maybe it was
because another death only reminded them of the others that have passed away.
I'm sure these reasons had a part in their heartbreak, but I know that one reason remained relevant for all four of them - that all their hearts broke for their friend's broken
heart.
They let go of the embrace and ventured in Dillons to buy a bouquet and card for their grieving friend. Like most girls, it took them a good amount of time to pick the perfect bouquet of flowers - something colorful and full. They split up the card aisle among the 4 of them so they could find the perfect card. And they did. It took them about 20 minutes to write in the card a 5 sentence personalized message - wanting the words to be poetic and meaningful. The 4 of them wanted to accurately express their non circumstantial presence and support during this time of their friend's life.
The drive to her house was quiet.
They made sure to knock on the door, to not wake anyone up. Their puffy eyed friend answered the door. The 5 of them immediately embraced each other in silence. No words were spoken.
Sometimes we can put a limit on God's voice. We limit Him to only speak through praise songs, sermons, or a heart to heart with a fellow follower of Christ. Our God is certainly able to be in those things. But He is also able to be in much smaller actions and words. Our God is continually seeking and healing our hearts. He won't stop at a sermon to reach His children.
For me that night, God was there in the 20 minutes it took 4 college students to write up 5 sentences. God was in the tears of friends who cried, not for their pain, but for someone else's. God was in the discussion of what kind of flowers looked the happiest. God was in the embraces. And God was definitely in the silence.
In that silence, a group of friends acknowledged that no words could change the circumstance or grief. They surrendered to silence. In that silence they were simply there. Offering nothing else but their sympathy, love, and existence. God was in that surrender to silence. In that silence, He was acknowledged as the only One who can offer eternal comfort and joy. In that silence, His love was exemplified through the friendship of 5 young women.
For those who are grieving, grieve knowing that God is in those restless long nights. God is in your weeping and anger. God is in every hug you receive and card you read. God is in every surrendered moment of silence. God is and will forever be there. Allow yourself to receive His eternal comfort and joy and fully rest in His redeeming heart. Amen.
They let go of the embrace and ventured in Dillons to buy a bouquet and card for their grieving friend. Like most girls, it took them a good amount of time to pick the perfect bouquet of flowers - something colorful and full. They split up the card aisle among the 4 of them so they could find the perfect card. And they did. It took them about 20 minutes to write in the card a 5 sentence personalized message - wanting the words to be poetic and meaningful. The 4 of them wanted to accurately express their non circumstantial presence and support during this time of their friend's life.
The drive to her house was quiet.
They made sure to knock on the door, to not wake anyone up. Their puffy eyed friend answered the door. The 5 of them immediately embraced each other in silence. No words were spoken.
"The Lord said, 'Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.' Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave."
-1 Kings 19:11-13
Sometimes we can put a limit on God's voice. We limit Him to only speak through praise songs, sermons, or a heart to heart with a fellow follower of Christ. Our God is certainly able to be in those things. But He is also able to be in much smaller actions and words. Our God is continually seeking and healing our hearts. He won't stop at a sermon to reach His children.
For me that night, God was there in the 20 minutes it took 4 college students to write up 5 sentences. God was in the tears of friends who cried, not for their pain, but for someone else's. God was in the discussion of what kind of flowers looked the happiest. God was in the embraces. And God was definitely in the silence.
In that silence, a group of friends acknowledged that no words could change the circumstance or grief. They surrendered to silence. In that silence they were simply there. Offering nothing else but their sympathy, love, and existence. God was in that surrender to silence. In that silence, He was acknowledged as the only One who can offer eternal comfort and joy. In that silence, His love was exemplified through the friendship of 5 young women.
For those who are grieving, grieve knowing that God is in those restless long nights. God is in your weeping and anger. God is in every hug you receive and card you read. God is in every surrendered moment of silence. God is and will forever be there. Allow yourself to receive His eternal comfort and joy and fully rest in His redeeming heart. Amen.
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