There is something about the silence in the moment just before dawn that always captivates – it is a deep breath before the radiance of the day breaks forth like a resounding trumpet. It is a silence that echoes back to the foundation of the universe when the first song was sung. It is the pause that seems to gear up the world in preparation for the challenges ahead, an in-between time that transitions from the dreams of yesterday to the realities of the day. We sense it – the nocturnal crickets have finally ceased, the winds of dawn blow ever so gently- and an unfathomable quietness envelopes us like a lullaby, like a serenade to a slumbering heart. Only those who take time to listen to it will hear it – this stillness that is filled with longing. It is a peace that harkens to a primeval harmony, a calling to return to a womb-like embrace. It is the silence of Him whose words became the foundation of everything that has ever been created and built. It is the silence of His deep satisfaction – when all that He has created, all that He has done is good. It is the silence of the soul that has finally come home and found rest.
But it does not do well to remain in this silence forever, in this shroud of the mysterious and the deep. One cannot and must not. Soon the busyness of the world will break through this thin membrane of quietness. Soon the hustle and the bustle of life will intrude and crash through the carefully cultivated retreat. The weariness of existence will have to be met head-on – the demands and the confrontation of needs being encountered from a thousand different points will stretch and disturb. Pain, discomfort, and stress become the emblem of the world around us. Much as we like to remain in the quiet embrace of the sacred moment, we dare go out into the noisy, brash and bright world. For we are created not only to revel in the coolness of the day, but also to exist and to struggle in the harshness of the sun – not only should we celebrate the quietness of His love, but also to bring that love into a world that is cruel, and full of pain.
This is what we should learn then: Moments of quiet love prepares us for the strains of living out as the community loved by Him who has loved unconditionally, and whose love demands the acceptance and the embracing of even the most difficult of people and circumstances. To retreat from this world, but also to lose out on these moments of quietness means the loss of something vital and sacred in each one of us..
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