Can you hear it???

We have been so thankful for the schools that our children have attended over the years.  During their Elementary years, both Taylor & Peyton attended Woodlawn School, which is where Peyton is finishing his final year this year.  We have been so thankful for the leadership that the school has provided, as well as the amazing teachers that both our kids have had.  In this public school, it is so comforting to see the high percentage of Christian teachers teaching in our schools, and thankfully our children have both had many Christian teachers, who have impacted their love for learning greatly.

While we don't live close to Woodlawn, we do live within several blocks of the school and one of the things that I have always loved in spring and fall is the fact that on a calm day, I can hear their class buzzer from my yard.  I love being able to work outside in the yard or have the house windows open and hear the buzzer and look at the clock and know "Oh, they are going outside for recess now."  or "Oh it's lunch time there."  It just feels like I am connected to them and know what is going on, without actually being right there and hovering over them.  (Okay, stalking might be a better word! LOL)  Some days, I can hear the buzzer as loud as the children playing next door, or other times I really have to strain to hear it. When I do hear it clearly, I don't even have to be thinking about it but hear it and connect with what they are doing.  Other times I don't even hear it at all.

It sort of reminds me of my relationship with God.  Some days I feel like I am really connected to Him.  I feel like at every turn I am hearing His voice, or feeling His prompting.  Other times, I have to sit there and really wait and strive to hear Him. With the school, it is always there.  It doesn't move, but things interfere with my ability to hear the buzzer.  And just like the school, there are things that sometimes interfere with me hearing God's voice.  Sometimes I'm too busy.  Sometimes, I'm not listening.  Sometimes, I'm ignoring what I am hearing.

I've thought about those times at home when I've been waiting and wondering when I'd hear the buzzer from school.  Sometimes I'll hear it, sometimes I won't.  And it's the same with God's voice.  Sometimes I'll really feel connected with God, and other times I really feel distant.  Now, I can promise you this, if I was a teacher or student in the school, I would be hearing each and every buzzer that came.  (Especially that last buzzer of the day.)  As a Christian, I know that the more I am immersed in my relationship with God, the more I will be hearing each and every voice and prompt from Him.  It's when the things of life take over and I move away from Him, that the connection weakens.  But when I am sitting. . . .waiting. . . . listening . . . . straining to hear Him, I will.  It might not be right away.  But I can always know He is there.  And as I wait on Him. . . and I listen in the stillness. . . in the quietness of Him. . . I will hear His voice. 

For guests who come over to our home, they don't necessarily know what that sound is.  In fact, they might not even hear the buzzer like I do.  However, if I draw their attention to it, they will know what it is.  So too with hearing God's voice.  With feeling the Holy Spirit's prompting.  We need to know what we are listening for.  We need to know what we are looking for.  And we do this by spending time in the Scriptures. 

I LOVE Psalm 40:1-4.  It shows that if we wait patiently for the Lord, He will make Himself known to us.  But it takes time. . .

I waited patiently for God to help me; then he listened and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out from the bog and the mire, and set my feet on a hard, firm path, and steadied me as I walked along. He has given me a new song to sing, of praises to our God. Now many will hear of the glorious things he did for me, and stand in awe before the Lord, and put their trust in him. Many blessings are given to those who trust the Lord and have no confidence in those who are proud or who trust in idols.

It shows the process of our relationship with God.  We wait on Him.  And then He answers.  He makes Himself known to us.  And once we have entered into that intimate relationship with Him, we can't help but sing a new song.  We can't help but praise the Lord.  

These days, as I work in the yard and garden, I eagerly listen for those buzzers at Woodlawn.  Just so I can feel connected to my son.  (Unfortunately, Taylor's school is too far away for me to hear those!)  At 3:45 I know that buzzer will ring, and he is on his way home.  I feel comfort in knowing what he is doing.  And just so, as we spend time in God's word, we will feel connected to Him.  We will feel the Holy Spirit doing great things in our lives.  We will feel His prompting to make changes and forge ahead on the path He has for us.  

Am I listening for God's buzzer in my life?  Am I making the effort to quiet everything else around me in order for me to hear Him?  Or is my life cluttered and noisy-ed by the busyness of my day, so that I cannot hear Him?  

Let's be sure to take that quiet time with Him so that we can hear Him when He is talking to us.  Let's commit to spending more time in the Scriptures so that we KNOW what His voice sounds like.  That we will do the things that He is having us to do because we have spent that time with Him.  We know His voice.  We have a relationship with Him that connects us together.