Trust the Quiet

Waiting.  Through the Viewfinder Photograph.

It's Tuesday of Holy Week.

What has been on my heart this week is the knowledge that I can sit and wait with our Lord in a very real way.  And, that waiting and sitting is more than likely very quiet without much to see on the outside so to speak.  And, maybe not even too much to describe on the inside, but a presence of love.

I sit in love with Him this week.  And, I go about the daily tasks, but am still present with Him in love.

There has been a lot of sitting and waiting in my life.  Sitting and just "being"... being present to someone else or alone with God.  Many times the sitting and waiting was in distress and others sat with me in support. 

When my first husband, Jim died., there was a lot of just sitting and "being".    My family sitting with me here at the house, just being here. A friend would call and we'd sit quietly on the phone together.

All our many trips to the ER and stays in the hospital with the kids.  Many times with family or friends there or sometimes just my husband and myself.  At times me alone.  All the sitting on the couch, staring at them while they lay sick.

When my husband, Randy was really sick with an infection.  Sitting, waiting, being by his bedside.

When a couple of older friends passed away, sitting, waiting, being by their bedside, praying in the last weeks.

When my Dad died.  When Randy's Dad died. Sitting, waiting, and being in hospitals, the nursing home.  

Many of the times when we wait with a loved one or they wait with us, there is little need for conversation.  Just sitting.  Just being.  Maybe praying.  Maybe flipping though a magazine.  Maybe crocheting.  The occasional mention of current events or family goings on.  But the love is palpable.

When the emotional time has passed and the air is lighter, then there may be waiting with card games, movies, puzzles, jokes.  We've had lots of that kind of waiting too. 

And, then there is the busy kind of waiting and being. When you show your support by doing chores and helping with the daily tasks that still need to be done. I've had lots of this kind of waiting and being shown me when Jim died.  Such quiet love shown with our actions.

When I wrote the post on Ash Wednesday, I wanted to say more.  If we spend our days in quiet love, that would be a good way to look back and see how we've spent our lives. Even if from the outside it doesn't look like much.

It seems like we need to put words into everything we do and often feel the need to fill the silence. (Yes, I realize the irony that I'm using words to talk about not needing words...ha!) 

But, so many times words fail. 

 And, you can trust the quiet.