Has God Really Been Silent?

I have heard people talking about God and asking; Why is it that He has not spoken to us since biblical times? The truth is, He has spoken to us. Most people are simply not silent enough to hear Him. I know from experience. I was once one of those people asking that very question.

There is a huge misconception that in order for God to talk to us it has to be in the form of some great powerful voice from the sky. Similar to the Great Oz, where dark clouds cluster together and the sound of thunder rumbles in the background. Maybe you are expecting the burning bush in your backyard?

Be still and know that I am God. Yes, simply said but harder to do you say? Was it not God Himself that said those words? Be still and know that I am God.

We tend to get caught up in the minutiae of everyday life. We are all stretched so thin these days, or so it seems. Work, school, the kids, getting dinner ready and so on, leaves us not much time for ourselves. Time with God for that matter has been put on the back burner. Can you remember a time when you were able to just sit in silence without a single thought going through your mind? Where you could simply, be still?

No wonder people are asking why God does not talk to us anymore. It is there that we can hear Him. Where He talks to us. But why there you ask? Because He wants our undivided attention. Because what He has to say is of the utmost importance. Because He commands it. Because He is God.

I urge you to take the time and be still. Listen and hear what our glorious God has to say to you.

If I Only Knew Then What I Know Now

I can remember hearing those words so vividly as a child. I would hear it from my mother and then my father. I would hear it from him as he would reminisce about the old days. " If only I could do it all over again." I'd listen, maybe roll my eyes and think to myself:" Oh boy here he goes again." I never really understood what they were talking about. Oh I knew what the words meant, but I didn't really know what they meant. That is until recently.

As we get older and proverbially wiser, we tend to have these epiphanies. Revelations that cause a cartoon-like light bulb to turn on over our heads. "Ooooh that's what it's about" or "That's what they meant." I can see myself slapping my forehead as I say it. These are the moments when you can almost say that you have uncovered one of the many mysteries of life. Or as Curly would say in the movie City Slickers, the one thing.

I have been having quite a few of those lately. They come in waves. Increments even. Is this the process that takes us through life? Do we then teach others what we have learned while earning the right to use the phrase? "If I only knew then what I know now."

One of the memories I have about hearing this is how demeaning it sounded. Almost like someone saying: "Oh you foolish child." Yet in hind-sight I can say I was a foolish child.

When I was fourteen I thought I knew it all. I can remember thinking how incompetent and mentally challenged so many people in my life where. Looking back, I may have thought I knew it all, but I can tell you honestly I didn't know squat. I learn so much each day that to say I know it all would be a gross overstatement. I still don't know squat, but I do know more than I did when I was fourteen.

I can only pray that I am blessed enough to live long enough to say I learned a lot. Maybe even be able to say. . . I know squat. But for now I will simply say: "If I only knew then what I know now."

How Far We Have Come - But Have We Really?

A hundred years ago I would have been considered to be an old maid. As I walked in the marketplace they would have whispered to one another as I passed by. "It's just too bad." "Poor girl." " I don't understand, she's so beautiful." As they shake their heads in pitty.

Being a thirty-something unwed female just wasn't propper. It wasn't the decent thing. Surely there must be something wrong with her then. My sisters would have resented me because my father would not allow them to marry before the eldest daughter was. That was the way things were done at that time. But have we really changed all that much since those days?

Both of my younger sisters are married with children.My brother (the baby) has a daughter with a son on the way. Then there is me. The oldest of four. No husband, no children and no prospects ( not due to lack of effort from the opposite sex).

I chose a different route for myself. I was going to be the career woman, strong and self sufficient. But at what price was that choice made? I have been told that my standards are too high. Well I must admit, I have change them somewhat recently but remain firm on a few. For one, he must be a practicing Christian. That for me is a prerequisite. However, even that has levels of acceptance. I can't be with a fundamentalist that thinks his woman should be a subserviant submissive. I have become to independant for that.

Even in daily activities such as a conversation in line at the market I'm faced with the labels of years ago. Oh they don't say it, but you can see it in the look on their face. I remember an incident at the market where a woman was in front of me with her kids. The children were getting a bit antsy and she politely turned to me with this look of " God help me" on her face. I smiled and simply said," I wish I had that kind of energy again." Without looking down at my hand to see if their was a wedding ring, she smiled and said; " How many kids do you and your husband have?" I replied that I wasn't married and had no kids. I can tell by the look on her face that she was sorry she asked along with the pitty.

Don't get me wrong, I would love to be married and have children of my own. But if the cards haven't been dealt that way at this time, why is it that modern age women have become the "pittied generation?"