A Few From Spring Break

Duke was not a huge fan of the car

Ahh the mountains!

The famous staircase made with no nails

Happy Birthday to me and ray!!

Long week :)

. . . . . . .

Silence
Most people are incredibly uncomfortable with silence. Especially among younger generations who are so technologically overstimulated that they have forgotten what face-to-face communication is like.

I can remember the first time I ever truly experienced silence. It was my sophomore year of high school and I was climbing my very first mountain with a good friend and group of church members. Before heading out to Mt. Hope, our climbing guides stripped us of all things technological. This was completely okay with me, until they took my watch. My watch?! You're kidding right? How am I supposed to know what ungodly hour your waking me up at? How am I supposed know when it's time for dinner?

The response: "Trust us; your guides. You don't need to know how and when things will happen, they simply will . . . take time to enjoy the silence."


Enjoy Silence? And why should I trust you? How do I know you really know what you're doing?



I've found myself saying similar things to God this year. God has only ushered me into two silent seasons with him in my life and let's be honest, these seasons are not my favorite. Mostly because there's not much to do when God is silent other than grow . . . and growing is a slow, some times frustrating and almost always an uncomfortable process.


It became clear last semester that God was inviting (more like telling) me to step up with confidence and make the next directional decision. That's where we hit the road block. God knows that I will follow Him anywhere, anytime, but we've discovered I'm not so quick to move (if at all) when the decision is left in my hands. I have found myself not asking if He is trustworthy, but rather if I am trustworthy.


What we believe about our own abilities are a direct reflection of what we believe about God's.


A painful truth that has been searing itself into me for months.


Reminders
As Ray and I climbed our first mountain together last week, he reminded me that Mother Teresa followed God's command to the slums of India and then did not hear from God again for another 30 years. A reminder that was not so encouraging at that moment, but profoundly powerful in the days to follow.


I have begun to grow fond of the simplicity of His silence and the way it forces faith to stand there naked; the way it invites you to trust. I continue to be amazed at how simply pieces of me have come to life during this season learning to live as beloved child who has been made in the image of the Creator.

Where is all this leading? I have no idea, but in silence or communication, I trust my guide.
He's been up this mountain before.