The Healing Journey

September 27, 2024

“My hope for my children must be that they respond to the still, small voice of God in their own hearts.”
— Andrew Young

In his book “The Hidden Beauty of Everyday Life,” writer Kent Nerburn recalls an encounter he had with a rancher years ago in the vast Saskatchewan prairies. At evening, he was walking along the highway when a rancher stopped to give him a lift. They drove together in silence until the rancher spotted a break in a wire fence, and they both left the truck to check his livestock. The man said a few words, but Nerburn couldn’t understand him because the wind was so strong and steady. When he told that to the rancher, he responded, “Oh, yeah, the wind, I don’t even hear it anymore. The only time I notice it is when it stops.”

Nerburn saw the similarity to the voice of God. He wrote:

“How much, it seems, the voice of God in our lives is like that wind, so constant, so present, that we only notice it when it stops — in times of crisis, the loss of a loved one, a marriage gone bad, a fight with a friend that leaves us feeling misunderstood and unloved. Then we feel the great emptiness around us and reach out for the calming promises that we are not alone in the world.”

“But God’s voice has not stopped. Like that great Saskatchewan wind, it has only paused to catch its breath and to remind us by its silence to listen more closely, and take it less for granted when it begins to whisper once again.”

That is such a common experience for those of us who are grieving. Sometimes, we feel the voice has stopped, much like Mother Teresa did during those years of her dark night of the soul. But it really never stops. Our circumstances sometimes impede our ability to listen.

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The still small voice of God the prophet Elijah heard is always there. Try to find some time for silence in your life so you can listen more closely.