Silence Is Golden

Earlier tonight, I had the pleasure of attending Evening Prayer and Communion at St. Anne's Episcopal Church in Winston-Salem.
For those that don't know, I generally read from Evening Prayer alone before bed each night. This was the first time of gathering with others for this, as we do not have mid-week service at St. John's. It was a small gathering... maybe about 9 or 10 of us total. We were all seated adjacent to the altar. 
Within the liturgy of Evening Prayer, there is a time for silence and meditation. Before we bowed for a few moments, Father Lawrence Womack reminded us to listen for God in the silence. Strip away the busy-ness and all of the entanglements and simply draw closer to Him. 
Believe it or not, we are quickly coming up on a year since I first began attending St. John's in Waynesboro. It was there in the silence (during my second visit) that I truly realized what I had been missing from my worship experience - a truly deep and authentic connection with Almighty God. It was in that silence that I realized that I was being called to join the family at St. John's. I did so just a few months later. God was speaking then. God is speaking now.
Maybe your life is filled with noisy uprorars and stresses that you'd much rather forget. Maybe you just want to throw in your hands in the air, simply because you don't know where else to turn. Even in the midst of the noise... even in the midst of life's uncertainties, God is still speaking. 
How do we listen? 
We stop talking and simply listen.
I am thankful to St. Anne's for welcoming this out of towner as one of their own. As with St. John's, I knew I was with family. Pray for Father Womack and the church family at St. Anne's as they continue to minister in the coming year.

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