Perfect Silence

The weekend of October 15 was our silent retreat. We spent 24 hours in complete silence. Now to some, that might sound like a nightmare. But for me, it was perfect, and exactly what I needed. We were not allowed to bring our ipods, our computers, and our phones had to be turned off. We weren't allowed to talk to each other unless it was absolutely necessary.
Heidi, the site coordinator for Miami’s D.O.O.R. program, and YAV program took us to a beautiful condo on Miami Beach. We were on the 17th floor, with a balcony overlooking the beach. This is a picture that Amanda May (fellow YAV) took of me.

 

We started our silence on Friday night, soon after we arrived. Most of us stayed on the balcony and listened to the sound of the waves. The next morning I woke up to the sound of those waves again. This was the view that I woke up to that morning. Not too shabby, eh?

Most of my day was spent on the beach, sitting in silence, listening to the waves, and watching people play in the sand and in the ocean (yes, it is October and people are still swimming in the ocean.) I took my Bible and my journal to the beach, and was finally able to write in my journal. I was able to read the Bible and reflect on it without any interruptions. I was able to just sit and not be bothered by a child tugging on my shirt, or yelling my name. I was able to sit and not worry about making conversation. I could just…sit. I could listen to God, with no interruptions. And I never once felt guilty about just sitting. What a freeing thought! To be able to take time out of the day just to sit and be still and be silent. How many of us really do that? How many times do we choose to have all of that background noise? Don’t get me wrong, I listen to my music and watch TV a lot! But because of this weekend, I realized that I don’t really need that noise all day everyday. It is alright to stop and be silent. I don’t have to feel guilty for just wanting some time to myself.

This weekend also reminded me of just how blessed I am. I know that I’m blessed, but I often times forget it. I forget that I already have everything I need, and that God is the one who provides it for me. Everything is a blessing from God; the sounds of the ocean, the time spent with friends. The gorgeous sunset and sunrise. The opportunity to even take a retreat like this one. These are all things that are easily taken for granted.

After being at the beach all day, I finally decided to go back inside when the sun started to set. For the next few hours I worked on making my greeting cards (something that I love doing, but never get the time to do here.) It felt so good to actually get time to sit down and do that. That is my favorite hobby by far, but I never make time for it. I was able to write notes to people that I had been meaning to write for a while.

After working on those for a little while, it was time to eat dinner, and break the silence. It was nice to be able to talk for a bit, because there were definitely some stories I needed to tell from the day, and things that I wanted to share. We all had a turn to tell about our days, and how God spoke to us.

After dinner, it was back to being noisy. Some people wanted to watch TV while others wanted to listen to music. To be honest, all I wanted to do was to go back to the silence and continue making my cards/journaling/reading the Bible.
The weekend was way too short, and I can only hope that we take many more retreats like that one.

One of the great things I learned from that weekend was that I need a time throughout my week where I can sit down and be silent. Whether that means journaling, or making cards, or just sitting, I need it. I need that time. So I told one of my roommates Andre that we were going to be accountable to each other and make each other sit in silence once a week. This is our second week doing that, and it has been the best thing. We sit in silence for 30 minutes on Tuesday nights. And so far, every time that we’ve done this, I have felt so refreshed. If there is anything that you, the reader, can take away from reading this blog, it is this; spend some time in silence! And by that, I mean real silence. Turn your phone off, turn your ipod off, turn the TV off. Sit in a place where you know there will be no interruptions. Tell your family/friends not to interrupt you. But just sit, and be silent. You’ll be amazed at how great you feel afterwards!