So here I am, weeks away from a few things, (volleyball ending, my best friend getting married, potentially a change in schools, majors, friends leaving, and friends coming..) Things seem to all the sudden be creeping up on me. Does that happen to you? Thinking things are so far away, and you will figure it out later and then all the sudden, BAM it is right in front of you, and you realize you have a lot to deal with, or just a lot of directions that life could be going, and having to figure out how you FEEL about each one individually, and collectively.
Well.. I have come to the conclusion that I am joyful and excited, but of course.. nervous/anxious.. that always seems to be my nature about things. So I am trying to reach a little harder for the joyful side :).
Okay so with all this Speed and things creeping up, I have struggled to find my quiet place.. or just time for the Lord, finding time to listen for his voice. I was in New York recently for an Art trip, and i just noticed how different the culture was there, everything moved 20 times faster than life in clinton, and I left wondering how in the world these people find that place.. where everything is slow, and God's voice is easy to hear. How could these people possibly block out or escape this noise, chaos, business, and overall hurried lifestyle?
So I asked a friend how he did it when he was visiting New York in the Summer, and here was his Response..
"Lindsey, you have to go to Central Park, Lay Down, and close your eyes, block out the noises, force yourself to listen for 5 things other than the obvious... Listen for the simple sounds."
-Thomas Joyner
-- If you do not know, Central Park is of course surrounded by the city, with horns, cars, and just noise EVERYWHERE. I never had the time to make it to Central Park. ( This will for sure be on my agenda when I go back.)
So... What are the simple Noises? To know the simple, I think we need to know the opposite, what are the complex noises?
Complex: 1. So complicated or intricate as to be hard to understand or deal with."
Simple: 1. Consisting of one element or part only; not combined or complex: a simple mechanism
2. Free from complexity or difficulty
3. Clear, intelligible, understandable, unmistakable
I want to listen for the simple noises, the things in life that are unmistaken, and clear.. Like the person obviously needing love, affirmation, or a listening ear. There are SO many things in this life that are FOR sure things, that are RIGHT under our nose, plain as day to see, and yet we so often miss them because we are to busy searching for the complex noises, and complicated ideas.
When it comes to our faith, I have observed people trying to make sure the "non-believer" GETS the idea that they are "This and not That," and trying to pound every piece of information into their head, and help them wrap their minds around the FULL Picture at the very beginning, when of course it will seem SO complex to them because you are trying to grasp the extraordinary before the simple.
I think Christ calls us to look for the simple in the world, and when you start to see and hear the simple needs of others, and discover his simple joys THIS is when we will stumble upon the extraordinary...
"Such simple things,
And we make of them something so complex it defeats us,
Almost. Why can't everything be simple again?..."
-John Ashbery
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