In the Absence of Noise…

 

“Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” *

Our large, unfinished basement is being remodeled, with the current bathroom being expanded to include a shower and steam sauna. At the same time, the adjacent laundry room is being transformed with a new ceiling, countertops, cabinets and a fresh coat of paint on the walls and floor. Hurray!

In addition, new insulation has been put in one wall of the house to prevent cold blasts of air from coming in the kitchen whenever the cabinets under the sink were opened. The insulation will also help keep the basement warmer during the chilly winter months.

Chris, our son-in-law, recommended a construction firm to do the remodeling projects in the basement and kitchen. The crew of three that came to our house at 8:00 one Monday morning was very efficient and after one full day of work, had installed the  insulation.

It was when they started in the basement that things got pretty unsettling. One of the men used a heavy sledgehammer to break up the concrete floor in the existing bathroom in order to install drains for the new shower and sauna. With each jarring boom, everyone upstairs jumped! It was particularly upsetting to the dogs who hate loud noises. I had to take them out for several walks around the neighborhood just to calm them down.

After the concrete floor had been broken up, there were the sounds of drilling, sanding, sawing, vacuuming…all of the usual noises that happen when construction is going on. It just seemed to be magnified down in the basement. This continued for two weeks, with the crew arriving at 8:00 a.m. and leaving around 5:00 p.m. each day. The only quiet time was when we were out walking or late at night.

Staying up late though only added to my stress and fatigue. Then there was the high-pitched chirping noise that woke up the dogs in a panic at 2:30 a.m. one morning. After letting them outside, I discovered that it was coming from a carbon monoxide detector that had been taken off one wall in the basement during the construction project.

Was it the battery in the detector or was there a problem with the fan the crew had left running on high to dry out the new cement? Not wanting to wake up Al, I decided to take the battery out of the detector and unplugged the fan too, just in case! That helped, but it was hard going back to sleep after all the excitement.

 When the crew reported that they would not be back for a few days, we had a respite from the noise and a chance to calm down. Although we were both eager to get the project finished as soon as possible, it was much easier to have a quiet time of prayer and reflection on the Bible in the morning.

In thinking about the importance of having quiet spaces in our lives, I remember a comment about silence that our friend Larry Otter made in a recent email. He and his wife had to evacuate from their mountain home above Springville, California for a few days due to the Sequoia Fire that was burning in the forest nearby. When it was safe to move back to their house after staying in a mobile home park in Porterville, Larry shared that the biggest change was the silence surrounding them, a stark contrast to the noise of the city.

The prophet Elijah was in panic mode when he fled for his life, with King Ahab and Jezebel hot on his trail. God sustained and strengthened him through a forty-day trek until he reached Mt. Horeb in the Sinai desert. Alone and scared, he huddled in a cave on the mountain top. It was there that God demonstrated His power to Elijah, first in a wind, then in an earthquake and finally in a fire. But it was with a soft whisper that he drew the scared prophet out of the cave, reassured him and sent him back the way he came!(1 Kings 19:1-18)

Whether the source of noise is from outside, voices and thoughts bombarding us from within or all of the above, each of us needs to find time to be alone with God in a quiet place. He is waiting!

*Psalm 46:19 NIV