Silence
Author:
June 01, 2018
I’ll never forget that November morning. I walked into the Canterbury Center and found
several students sitting in silence. There was a palpable sadness in our little storefront and some eyes
betrayed the stillness. I just sat
down. I offered hugs. I offered a sounding board, but all that was
needed in that moment was a place for silence. So I made a sign to put outside that read, “Election fatigue? Come pray
in our designated silent space.” There
were plenty of words to say and questions to ask, but what we needed was
silence.
It was a good reminder then and an equally good reminder
now. Sometimes, you just need to be
quiet. “For
God alone my soul waits in silence; from him
comes my salvation.” (Psalm 62.1) I know
the need for silence is not unique among college students but for our purposes
here, I think it is critical. There are
so many distractions, so many demands of our time, activities, papers and
projects to work on, reading for class, studying for tests, preparing for
homecoming that pull us all in so many directions, it is easy to find ourselves
tossed around in storms of our own creation and ones we have no say over. But remember it is Jesus in Matthew’s gospel
that in the face of raging storms rebukes the wind and calms the storm. (Matthew
8:23-27) He will do the same for us,
when we think to ask.
One of the things we
try to do in campus ministry is provide a place, a community, that can become a
place of rest and calm in the midst of all the craziness that comes with the
territory of life in college. Sometimes,
we just need silence; time to tune out everything else and listen for that
still small voice reminding us of God’s presence, our Savior’s love, and the
way of life that comes from following not the powers that be, but the Prince of
Peace.
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