This Christmas we headed out to the family ranch to enjoy the quiet and each other. The day after Christmas Paul and I took a couple of walks up into the pasture. On the second walk, we kept walking and walking until we got to this place where you could see for miles and the silence was piercing. I just kept looking at the hills and breathing in deeply. The sights and the lack of sound awakened my heart.
We decided to take the kids up there the next day, I wanted to share my experience with them. So everyone got bundled up and of course, there is groaning, I don't want to go, why do we have to walk, it will be boring, why, why why. So Paul says, there is surprise up there for you. Now they are willing to go....
We get up to the stock tank and they say, "What is the surprise?". Paul answers, "The Gift of Silence." Cue the groans, this sounded like the boringest thing ever. But slowly the silence began to work its way into their souls. They let down their guard and they started find rest in the silence.
On the way back to the house, Benji grabbed my hand and started sharing his heart with me and then Malaki grabbed Paul and I's hands and started talking and then Mika. It was this one perfect moment on the way down the hill.
It opened the door for them to find rest. When we got back to the house, naps were had, games were played, and stories were told.
I'm learning that that rest and silence is a gift we can give to each other. Its also something we can with-hold from each other. I long for rest and silence and I think that deep down all of our souls long for rest and silence. This new year will bring lots of opportunities for us to give the gift of rest and silence to each other and I think we might learn something new about who we are and who God is.
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