I have to find the whisper. The voice that’s talking just to me. In the middle of all noise. The conspiracy theories. The politics. The economic forecast. The prophecies. The mass shooting. The pro-vaccine, anti-vaccine, vitamins C, D, and everything health advice… and the fear of what if this happens again… and when will it end? ...being proclaimed far and wide. You see I like to be educated. I was raised to be smart, and to think for myself and weigh things out. So I feel like I am standing in the middle of a raging stream of information trying to capture handfuls of what matters. I need to move away from it and listen quietly to God. Because even if it is all true or all false, at the end of the day what matters is what He is telling me personally to do with my time, and my choices during my days. He has been there through every plague, world war, famine, and financial fall… and He knows what I need to do. So like Horton the Elephant I am leaning in, and getting quiet. I am listening for the whisper … 1 Kings 19:11-12 A hurricane wind ripped through the mountains and shattered the rocks before God, but God wasn’t to be found in the wind; after the wind an earthquake, but God wasn’t in the earthquake; and after the earthquake fire, but God wasn’t in the fire; but after the fire (came) a gentle and quiet whisper. And God said...
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Over the years I have read many many books about those who survived World War Two in Europe during the 1940s. It’s been a favorite reading theme of mine. Images brought to life of people with ration cards standing in line trying to find food during shortages, society girls now in rubber boots with pitchforks turning the soil as they transformed their formal lawns into victory vegetable gardens, and tired women measuring 5 inches of water into the bathtub to do their part for the war effort. So many people giving up their personal freedom for a cause that for most of them involved an enemy that they would never actually see themselves. Then, of course, there are the darker images of those on the frontlines dealing with the trauma, death, and pain of losing so many lives before their time. As I read these books I would wonder what it was like to be trapped in a situation for years that had no specific end date, and I would wonder how they coped, living like that with the "not knowing". Those years were dark and challenging, and as the war ended there were shortages everywhere and the world's economies were a mess. Yet within a few years the world stepped into an unprecedented time of prosperity and growth such as had not been seen before. As I have pondered that feat I have realized that there were three gifts that the challenges of the war gave to that generation, which served them well moving forward. The challenges they faced made them as resilient as people. As they went without, as they stood in line, as they dug potatoes, their character was stretched, and their selfishness banished for the greater good. They were stronger at the end than they were when they started. The challenges they faced made them decisive. They had gone through a time of loss. They had to face their own mortality and they were awoken to the fact that life is fragile. They chose to translate that into a decision to live fully and intentionally as they rebuilt their lives. The challenges they faced made them grateful. They never forgot what it was to go without, and to to be hungry, and the joy of small things like hot water and the big things like personal freedom. They were changed for the good, by their engagement with the bad... Resilience Decisiveness Gratitude May we receive the same gifts from this "The Great Pause" that is taking place around the world. |
Wendy Peter is the North American Director of Events for the Women on the Frontlines Organization.
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