Well, I did it again. Trying to save money, I decided to build the bookshelves myself. You would think that a college-educated woman would be able to put together a simple set of bookshelves. I got the first set of shelves up with little problem, just had to turn the top shelf around after attaching it. You would think that I would double check the shelves on the second set, and I did! But I did not listen to that little voice that said to check ALL of the shelves. I was confident that since I had turned around only the top one on the first set, that was the only one I needed to check on the second set. Well, poor lighting and old eyes did not recognize that the middle shelf had been put in backwards until I had attached the back to the set and created holes in the wood that should have been in the front. I was tired and it was getting late. I was too focused on finishing and being done.
How often do we not listen to that “little voice” telling us to stop, to be quiet, double check, bring _____, go, say “I love you”? Or is it that we cannot hear the voice anymore? We live in a loud world that demands that we hurry. We have electronic devices that demand our attention. It has become expected that anyone can reach us at any time because we have phones that can be carried anywhere and receive texts, email, and Facebook messages in addition to the standard phone calls. They play music, games, movies and even television. All of these things contribute to the noise that drowns out that little voice. How do we regain our ability to hear it again? Or hear it more often?
Take time to pause. Slow down and get away from technology and back into God’s creation. Take time to sit and be still. God tells us to “Be still and know that I am God.” (Ps 46:10) Breathe! We all need to stop and just breathe at times. God created our bodies in such a marvelous way that we can actually slow our heart rate with controlled breathing! But most importantly, Listen! It is the peaceful, calm voice of the Holy Spirit within us that can guide us if we slow down and Listen.
