My favorite song

I grew up in a great era for Christian music. It was before the contemporary worship movement. I remember Keith Green calling Christian artists to stop charging so much for their LPs ("Long Playing" 33 1/3 RPM Vinyl Records). He was calling the Christian music industry to stop trying to pattern themselves after the money-making pattern of the "secular" music industry. In those days we had about 9 choices for Christian rock, and all of them were quite conservative in the way they taught and sang Scripture and Scriptural songs. I loved it.

Someday I will post my thoughts about "today's CCM", but not today.

So anyway, those were the first days of the Walkman and other personal listening devices. Headphones began to catch on and everyone could listen to whatever they wanted whenever they wanted to. And we did. There was the clock radio and waking up to music. There was music while we got ready for school. On the way to school, talk radio filled the air inside our cars. While we shopped after school (no matter the store), music played. And sometimes there was TV after that throughout the evening. (Mind you, I am not necessarily describing "my house." I am describing the world as me and my friends generally knew it.)

At some point I got burnt out on the noise.

I love the quiet.

One of my favorite things in the world is to spend time with my family and talk. Any ongoing noise tends to distract me. When I run, I almost always run without headphones. I have an iPod, and I'll use it once in a while, but there is something so refreshing about running when it's quiet. Yesterday I saw a small Turkey family cross the street just ahead of me and could hear their feet patter across the street. My heart was refreshed as a heard the birds call to one another (though sometimes this can really freak me out--are they talking about me??).

So, no, I'm not a rabid naturalist. I am not going to take a vow of silence anytime soon. I have some favorite music and I'll turn on a radio almost just as much as the next person. But for restoration and solitude, give me the quiet place!

I love carving out some time every day when there is nothing coming at me in terms of voice or music. And I can observe, and listen, and think, and pray and re-charge. It's usually in a moment like this that I finally feel like I can hear the still, small voice.

And that's my favorite song of all.