Heartbeat

I am drinking in a rare quiet moment this morning.  Folding laundry, the big kids are playing outside, the little ones are downstairs, the baby is content.  Should I put on some music?  Should I check facebook?  No, I just keep folding laundry.

It hits me how long it's been since I've had a silent moment, and how very much I need one.  Life is busy, and at one time I was the kind of person who always needed "background noise" - a TV show, music, anything.  But now my life is so full of constant noise that those things are a distraction, and more often than not make me crack.  This is what I need, and God knows it.

I got thinking about a heartbeat, and how your heart's always working in the background of your body, even when you can't hear it or don't even stop to listen.  Still sometimes it's comforting to hear it, to pay attention and feel the rhythm of this organ that keeps the rest of your body going.  And I imagine God to be very much the same.  I can't hear him all the time in the midst of all the daily busyness that is my life - screaming toddlers, fussy babies, fighting big kids.  Appointments and chores, places to be, meals to make, laundry to fold, dishes to clean.  Still, always God is here.  The steady, rhythmic pulse that keeps me going.  And still, it's so comforting in a moment of silence to listen for Him.  To feel Him calm and sure, guiding my every step.

In moments of chaos, may I always remember how close You are, trusting that even when I can't hear you for all the noise, that You are the reason my heart keeps on beating.