You know... It's hard to find that space even when you don't have kids. It was difficult even before I got married. It seems like work and everthing else just tries it's best to drown out the voice of God.
Jamie | Homepage | 12.14.03 - 3:57 am | #

I think that learning to be quiet is one of the hardest things in the world. Maybe because sitting still doesn't feel like "doing" something. Keep working on it and it'll get easier.
Christy | Homepage | 12.14.03 - 7:55 am | #

Interestingly I’ve been writing similar things on being still and waiting in my blog lately.
I miss the time when I was single. I used to spend my weekend reading, I remember sometimes I’ll read the Bible or other spiritual books until my eyes were all fussy as I didn’t even take a break for lunch or morning tea. I’d read from 8am to 5pm until I was just too hungry to go on. I’d love to spend time with the Lord. But now having 3 kids and a husband working 7 days a week and late night every night, I can hardly have any time for reading and devotion. Even early morning’s not possible as the baby gets very unsettled if I get up. Sometimes I feel guilty about that. But then I realised, hey, this is a season for another lesson. I need to learn when the Lord wants to have fellowship with me, not when I want to. Just like the song of songs in the Bible, when the Lord comes to knock on the door at night time, the bride was already in bed, and it was too much trouble to get up to open the d
Susan | Homepage | 12.15.03 - 3:59 am | #

get up to open the door. So the Lord left. (His timing) and later when the bride found out, she went out into the street, asked everyone where he could be, and could not find him. It took her a lot of hassle to find Him again. In our busy life, there’re still numerous moments when you can sense a gentle knocking in your spirit. It might not be a convenient time for you to respond, but it’s His timing. If you do respond, you’ll meet Him straight away. But if not, even if you take a lot of trouble to put the kids and dogs away and managed to find the quiet time, it’s your time, you might still not find Him. I found to me this has been a big relief. Even life’s busy, I can still listen to his voice while playing with the kids, driving the car,etc. And I don’t think it’s right or it’s the Lord’s will for me to neglect the children’s need to have a devotion time for myself, although I’d love to be able to do that. It’s the season that I need to learn to go with the flow.
Susan | Homepage | 12.15.03 - 4:04 am | #

Maybe part of it is also finding God in the busyness and the noise of life. As well as quiet concentrated time, just taking note of the beautiful things around you as whispers from God.
Luke | Homepage | 12.16.03 - 5:09 pm | #

Thanks for all your insights! I do try to live in an attitude of worship, so to speak, where I can connect quickly to God through every-day stuff going on. But there is still a longing for just a little peace and quiet, a listening time.

By the way, when I get to heaven, I'm ordering my own planet, and putting up a big "peace and quiet - keep out! Jesus and angels only" in space... ).

I need to learn to cultivate some apart time, and that's pretty hard to do with life noisily rushing past. But I am working on it - when I find time!
Michelle | Homepage | 12.17.03 - 11:08 am | #