Our electricity was turned off yesterday for several hours as they were working on some things at our house. I was running errands for what I thought was going to be the time we would be without power. But when I got home we still had no electricity.

It was so quiet in the house. I didn’t hear the refrigerator running. No washing machine churning back and forth. No dryer turning or dishwasher sloshing. No sound from the television or radio. No buzzing from the overhead lights. No dinging from the microwave.

But when I sat down and really listened I could hear our cat purring during her afternoon nap. I sat on the patio and could hear birds chirping, motorcycles roaring by on the highway, the leaves rustling in the wind. I heard our dog barking. I heard horns blowing in friendly” hellos”.

It made me realize how much I do NOT hear. I tune out the refrigerator, washing machine, dryer, dishwasher, television, and music because I’m not focused on listening to those things even though they making noise all around me.

I have missed out on the beautiful sounds of birds chirping and leaves rustling in the wind.

We get so focused on our busy lives that we miss out on the peaceful sounds around us. We have learned to tune out our children, our friends, our spouses, our pastor, and our bosses.

We try to do too much at one time instead of listening.

My challenge to you (and me) today is to LISTEN. Let’s realize what we are missing and try to tune in to the sounds around us – not only the physical sounds but also the voice of the Lord as He leads us.

Turn up your hearing aids. Turn down your busyness.  Come to your senses. There’s a lot to hear if we will just listen!