There is one predominate sounds at Winema. It is a sound that one hears no matter where you are. In the tent, outside the main building, on the mini golf course, floating on the lake, driving into camp. It is the ocean. There is a constant rumble, for the lack of a better phrase. It is so regular, that once in a while you don't notice it, but it is there.
Today, I was on the beach with my grandkids and great niece. After an hour or so of being chased by waves and digging in the sand, we moved to the top of the dune to the left. A hole was dug, bodies buried, and escapes made. It was time for the lake and desandification (I might have made that word up.) So for the first time in years I went down the center of that dune. It is 20 or 30 feet high and the hole is 5 or six feet deep (below road level). As I descended into the hole, I noticed an oddity. The sounds of Winema quieted. No voices, no kids yelling and screaming, no sounds of the soccer, and no ocean. It was dead quiet. The only thing I heard was a slight ring in my ears. It was uncanny. At the bottom of the dune, nothing, nada, silencia. It was surreal. I paused for a moment. Then as I came out of the hole and crossed the road, the sound gradually returned, and within 20 feet or so the noise of Winema had returned, ocean first, the kids, and soccer, and all.
As I returned to camp a thought came to me. There are times in your lives, in my life, when all we hear is silence. The still small voice of God is missing. We feel alone, wondering where His voice is. Silencia. Nada. And we wonder where He is, why has left me. We echo the words of Jesus, "My God, my God . . ."
Two reflections: First, in those moment, maybe the problem is where I am. I just might be in one of life's 'holes.' The holes include sin, rebelliion, subbornness, absence from His word. The solution in this case is to move, away from the hole, back on the road or return to the top of the hill. i have moved there so get out.
Two, moments of silence are natural and normal. Jesus experienced them, the Psalmists sing of them, the prophets decry them. In a perfect world they would not happen. This is not a perfect world. One day the King is returning and it will be, but until then the words of God to Adam in Gen 3 are ours as well, "Adam, where are you?" So take courage, this too shall pass and the sounds of His presence will return.
