Noisy Clutter

I recently attended a wedding for my cousin in Memphis, TN. At the reception, they had an awesome band playing. People were dancing, laughing, talking, mingling. The lights were low, and the ambiance was perfect. While the setting was amazing, it got me to thinking about the low lighting and noise in my life.

Anytime you wanted to talk to someone at this reception, you almost had to shout to be heard, many times having to repeat yourself. This can become frustrating after a while, almost to the point of discouraging communication. My daily life so often parallels this situation.

I have reached a point where I feel like I need to wipe the slate clean and start over. Spring cleaning, yard sale season, whatever. I have too many things going on. Too many outside forces pulling me in different directions. Too many loose ends on the worldly side of things. After this wedding, I began thinking about all the noise in my life. It seems I have so many distractions that I cannot hear the One True Voice that matters most - God.

I have decided to curtail TV, spending, unhealthy eating, worldly relationships, and inefficient rest for one week. Lately it seems life has become so self-indulgent, so rushed, so competitive that I am running in circles and going nowhere. I told someone today that I was crispy around the edges and singed from the burn-out I was suffering. I need to take a step back, rid myself of all the noise and have a "cleansing" if you will. I wouldn't call it a big "fast" per se, just a break. A time to refocus and clear my head.

When I am truly connected to God and can hear the whisper of His voice, it is the sweetest sound ever to grace my ears. He has awakened me in the middle of the night before to tell me to read something from His word. He has splashed sunbeams across the sky just for me because that's something special we share. He sings to me on the radio and ministers to me through the birds of the air. This world is alive with the sound of His voice, the rustle of the leaves as He passes by, the gentle breeze that carries his laughter. Oh how I miss Him.

When I allow my life to become cluttered with too much junk, it is like a teenager listening to heavy metal music in their bedroom. It rattles the walls of the entire house, damages their hearing, and no one can communicate with them. I wonder how tired God must be of trying to talk to me above the noise. How many glimpses of beauty and grace have I missed because I was off head-banging in my room?

Not saying there's anything wrong with a little heavy metal from time to time. It's a part of life. But too much leaves one dusty and dry. I miss the plush refreshment of peace that washes over you when you are in close communion with Him. I have simply let myself get too caught up in the mundane and unimportant. Now I am out here trying to drink the sand in the desert. It's no good. So I am embarking on a journey of refreshment. I am going to try to steer clear of the computer for a week or so....so I'll let you know how it goes!