Listening

I've been awake since about 6:30am and got up a little after 7. It's not I couldn't sleep, but it's daylight and I wake up.

This is one of my favourite times of days, especially on a Sunday. Everyone else is in bed (and I don't just mean the household residents). It's quiet, it's the beginning of a new day. Life feels good.

Once the washing clicked off, earlier, I hung it outside. The slight breeze moved the towels too and fro. The sky is blue (though, not sure for how long) and I was alone. No one around. No sounds of humanity, despite being in the middle of a housing estate and very close to a motorway and busy duel carriageway. The only sounds were those of the dawn chorus. So, I stopped. I listened. I drank it in. I felt at peace and in the presence of God - yes, even when hanging out my washing!

Now, I am inside, writing this as I make marmalade. The only sounds inside are the the sugar and fruit boiling, but through the open window I hear the blackbird, blue tit, wood pigeon and robin. In this quiet, there are still sounds, because I am listening.

If only figuring out what people meant and where God is directing us was so easy. But, perhaps I, along with many others, don't listen enough or we focus on the 'wrong' sounds.

I don't think there's an easy way to remove the clutter and really listen, except to practise. So many people I know would have heard nothing when I was listening to the birds. But, if it's pointed out to them, as they attune their ears to the (possibly) unfamiliar sounds, they realise the silence isn't silence, just noise in forms they are unfamiliar with.

As someone training for ministry in the Kirk, I want to hear what others don't. For my own path and in leading others, I need to know I am following God's voice. It is in these times, where no one is (seemingly) around, I can hear him most.