Late last night, just as the last Australia Day firework smoldered, I got a phone call that silenced me.
I didn’t cry, I didn’t shout, I just listened and stayed quiet.
My sister called to say she was with our 90year old Granma, waiting for the ambulance and as she had suffered a stroke.
Many texts later, late into the night, the doctors in fact confirmed she had endured a minor stroke at home by herself, whilst we were all celebrating and she was intensely scared.
Silence.
Her greatest consequential struggle was with her speech, the stroke had slurred and she was very upset.
You see my Grandma, is legally blind, yet still lives by herself so losing her speech as well was intensely distressing for her.
I have been silent most of today.
I spent the afternoon in hospital with her and joked she must have had too many Australia Day beers, but a soft chuckle ensued as she grappled with her words.
Gradually her coherency has come back slowly throughout the day, but there still is a slight impediment.
Silence.
Honestly so much that goes on in social media land, makes me so sad.
Sometimes people just need to gain some perspective and practice the spiritual discipline of silence.
I think we often have way too much to say.
I think we often have way too many opinions.
I think we just spew out our responses to the difficult things that hurt us and forget that some times we require silence to heal.
I love a scripture in Thessalonians which says ‘I make it my ambition to lead a quiet life.’
I don’t think a quiet life means an unresolved one.
I don’t think a quiet life means an unproductive one.
I just think it means a life that speaks with wisdom.
Proverbs also says about a Godly woman;
‘She smiles at the future, and ALWAYS has something worthwhile to say’.
Silence.
Sometimes in our life, when we are hurting, the best thing we can do is remain silent.
To bow in prayer,
To bow in humility,
Wait for an answer and forgiveness to appear,
Wait for wisdom to reign,
And until we can trust that God has it all under control, to stay silent.
It’s not until someone close by you finds their speech impeded that you realize starkly how often we waste our words on the trivial and miss the opportunity to speak life into our future.
Whether written or spoken, don’t you realize words have immense power?
Scripture says life and death are in the power of our tongue.
The beginning of the bible begins by God speaking the world into being.
I have so much more I want to say, but I must restrain myself.
Amanda
