“Are you awake?”
It was very early morning, so early in fact I had to rub my eyes and focus carefully to see the time beamed from our clock radio. It was also Saturday and I enjoyed the luxury of not having to leap out of bed and into the shower to ready for a workday. I felt lazy and reasonably rested, but not quite as energetic as usual because my sleep had been interrupted several times during the night. I wanted to know if my husband had heard the noises that had awakened me, so I gently scratched his back to awaken him and I whispered a greeting.
“Hey you sleepy guy, did you hear the wind last night?” I asked.
“Hummmm,” he mumbled, “would you scratch a little to the left?”
After a brief pause, indicating to me he was enjoying the attention, he continued with a review of his night. “Yeah, it was pretty stormy out there. It woke me up several times last night.”
I rather like talking about the weather because I spent 30 years living in Southern California and non-impacting weather is rarely worth talking about. It is either warm, warm and breezy, foggy, drizzly, and on rare occasions chilly. But here in the Pacific Northwest there are seasons and on Whidbey Island there is wind. The weather frequently impacts our daily plans. We lived a year on the island before building and we are pleased we built near a sizeable stand of trees. When the wind blows off Puget Sound we feel it. If the winds are really blowing they might even whistle around the corner of our bedroom. But for the most part wind blows above us, deflected by the trees.
That night was another matter altogether. Not only were the sustained winds noisy but the gusts seemed to hit the house. And because I was awakened time and again, short, strange dreams swirled in my head. Most of all, I dreamed of noisy engine sounds. Chugging machines and images of boats popped in and out of my awareness. So uncharacteristic were these dreams I mentioned them to Matt.
What I did not expect was a logical explanation to all that dreamlike motoring that had gone on, all night long. The wind, blowing just right, was picking up the sounds of vessels traveling in the Sound. I was hearing tug boat and barge engines as they passed off the coast, which is only about a mile from our home.
I was greatly surprised, for it was a new and curious experience for me. My husband gave me a pat and rolled over for a few more winks of sleep. He had been hearing those engines when the winds blow just right for years and never thought to mention the phenomena to me.
Why had I not heard the sounds off the Sound before? Better still, what sounds regularly get past me? Am I occasionally too tired or busy to notice things around me? Does God gently signal me, touch me, communicate with me and I fail to notice?
That God is personal and interactive is not a new concept for me. I believe it with every Psalm that describes exactly how I am feeling at that particular moment and every friend who tells me they whispered a prayer for me because I came to mind with some urgency. I see His influence in the buds that are bursting forth on the trees along our driveway and feel Him quicken my heart when I sing a praise song with other believers.
I am a demanding soul these days. I desire God’s influence and touch for the daily, practical aspects of my life. I want to hone my skills of discernment. I want to build into my life some practical avenues for deciphering God’s will so I will not miss His message when He speaks to me.
This is the direction we will venture in the coming weeks: identifying common ways God speaks to us. And while some people may hear the voice of God at some point in their lives, most of us will not. Therefore, it is our task to build into our lives habits and behaviors that will build our awareness. Expect to learn more about journaling, prayer, worshipping with others, digging into the Bible on a regular basis, and volunteering.
For this week, let’s ask God to fill us with a sense of genuine longing and expectation. May we hear God’s voice above the storm and may His voice create a song in our hearts.
If you have stories about the specific ways God has communicated with you, e-mail me at jbklope@yahoo.com. His voice is something to talk about and celebrate.
