“But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you;
And the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you;
And the fish of the sea will explain to you.”
(Job 12:7 – 8)
Thinking back to my conversation with Angie and the assuredness that God is our accountability partner, I recognize how He has spoken to me about this it the subtlest of ways, through the beauty of His creation. Anyone who knows me well knows that stand-up paddle boarding is a passion of mine; a hobby that takes intentionality with my full summers. This past June, I changed my plans one evening at the last minute, packed up my new board, and headed to the lake. Despite the heat, the water was calm with a gentle breeze, perfect for a paddle. After turning on my “feel good” play list, I noticed how loud it was, but paddled on anyway.
When I stopped halfway through to turn the music down something in me said to turn the music off and enjoy the moment in nature. It was in the quiet that I heard the birds sing and the wind rustle in the trees; I watched goslings and ducklings corralled by their parents through the water and enjoyed an occasional splash from a fish jumping. While nothing truly amazing happened, I stayed in the moment enjoying God’s handiwork. This is when I realized how much I have allowed the noise to distract me.
Pondering these thoughts through the rest of my paddle, I remembered an unused line I had written a few years back. “This is the result of too much. Too much stimulation, too many expectations, the attempt to have a people pleasing, ladder climbing, high achieving, keeping up with the Jones’s kind of life.” Talk about little foxes! Wow! Here I was looking for stillness and I found noise instead.
A chill came over me the next day as I journaled about this experience, the devil knew I was working toward stillness, so he created a roadblock in the most innocent of ways, a playlist of my favorite Christian artists. The Psalmist reminds us to quiet our spirit in Psalm 131:2. “I have certainly soothed and quieted my soul; Like a weaned child resting against his mother, my soul within me is like a weaned child.” Music is beautiful, but it is not always necessary, God created the quiet, He encourages stillness to rest in Him, for this is when we can hear Him the clearest.
As I reflect, I do not remember much of my paddle while the music was on; I could not tell you what songs I listened to, or recall anything I saw or heard, or even what I was thinking about. But I still remember the second half of my paddle without the music vividly. Present, in the moment, stilled before God in the middle of His handiwork.
Struck by epiphany: Too much of anything produces clutter, distraction, and chaos in our lives. Whether music or bright lights, ambition or busyness; too much creates noise, and noise hinders the soul, it blocks creativity, destroys dreams, and thwarts motivation. It was in this clarifying moment that I really grasped the expression, “too much of a good thing.” Even good wholesome music is not good in excess! But in the stillness, I can find BALM for my soul!
As I move away from the noise, God has revealed something else, He has reminded me that He is my first love? What has God whispered to your heart? Please share.
I will be posting a bonus post this week as well, be watching for it!