I do my best to protect my hearing. When I use a power saw or a lawn mower I wear big, yellow hardshelled ear muffs. They do the trick.
What I often find is that long after the cut is made or the lawn mower is shut off, I continue to work around the yard with my ear muffs on. I usually only notice this fact when my wife or kids ask me something and I only see their lips moving. I have witnessed other men do the same in their yards. Welcome to the quiet.
It is a good place to be; alone with your thoughts for a few minutes.
Maybe we should all have ear muffs and wear them regularly. There is a story about quiet in the Bible (1 Kings 19: 11-13) that I like a lot.
The prophet Elijah has just been engaged in noisy, boisterous, demanding work. I imagine that he is drained emotionally, physically and spiritually. Action and the attendant noise had been his normal. He is sitting in a cave, alone and afraid. "...
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.
When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave." God spoke to Elijah in a gentle whisper and I find God still does the same today.
So let's regularly trade our iPods and mobile phones for some earmuffs and listen.
