God's Snowy Silence

After I finished tossing about a foot of snow with my snow blower earlier this evening, I stood quietly to survey my work. The day’s Nor’easter was retreating, leaving remnants of squalls far above me. They were lit with an emerging half moon, giving the sky a milky glaze. Gusts animated the snow on my roof, casting some on my front walk.

Then all went quiet, and I remembered one of my favorite sayings by Mother Teresa. 

Before you speak, it is necessary for you to listen, for God speaks in the silence of the heart.

How true. There is a particular quality of nature’s silence that the human soul needs desperately. It is a craving that we often deny ourselves, to our peril.

That’s why I so dearly love clearing snow after a winter’s night storm. For the record, a plow service does the real work; I just finish up with my Lawnboy snow blower, which is efficient and fun but makes quite the racket. But when I switch off the ignition, the quiet is breathtaking.

Let God speak to you in the quiet of your heart. Spend time with Him without your phone, without televisions, radios, or iAnythings. Seek nature and its stillness, as Our Lord so often did. Embrace moments of quiet so that your soul can hear the constant speech of the Triune God—He who is love and relationship, and who seeks a deeper relationship with you ... now, and forever.