British Red Box, Internet Domain
Every now and then I
run across an article or experience something or hear a message that resonates
with me. I frequently listen to NPR
radio in the morning as it wakes me from a night’s slumber. I consider this such a better way to start
the day versus the jarring alarm I used in the past. I recently awoke to one of their reporters that had come across a story from the area in Japan that experienced the
devastating tsunami five years ago.
The narrator told of a man who longed for the conversations
he had experienced with a close cousin that had been lost in the tragedy. Later the man had the idea to place an
antique telephone booth at the edge of his property near the sea to seclude
himself in quiet conversation with his cousin.
The telephone booth provided protection from the coastal winds and the
disconnected receiver became a familiar invitation to talk candidly.
Once word spread that
this sanctuary had such a cathartic effect on the man, others who had lost
loved ones in the tsunami approached the booth when it was not occupied. Another family had lost their loved one who
was a husband, father and friend that had been driving his truck near the
tsunami’s landfall when it struck with such tremendous force. His body was never recovered and there was no
closure for those who knew him. They
entered the booth and finally resolved their repressed feelings after a long
five years in silent mourning. There is no communication line connected to the
booth but these people were connected nonetheless.
That coastal phone booth is a wonderful metaphor to consider
when we read Psalm 46:10 where God implores us to “be still and know that I am
God.” Our creator communes with us
provided we come to him and are in a quiet, open frame of mind to listen. He speaks in a variety of ways including on
those ocean breezes and the never-ending heartbeat of the waves. And we have been assured that he is always
with us to hear our conversations.
“Listen to the wind,
it talks.
Listen to the
silence, it speaks.
Listen to your heart,
it knows.”
--Native American Proverb
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