One of my favorite books is a short one, written by Anne Morrow Lindbergh, the wife of the famous American aviator Charles Lindbergh. It is called 'Gift From the Sea', and was written in 1955 during an island sabbatical. I think it is as relevant today as it was 50+ years ago. In it she argues that things are special when they are surrounded by space. That space allows each thing to stand out and be noticed and admired.
This is the phenomenon referred to in advertising as white space. Nike was one of the earliest companies to take major advantage of this concept, when they shocked the advertising world by purchasing full page ads, and sticking only a simple swoosh on the page, or combining the swoosh with the words 'Just do it'. This seemed like a waste, to purchase all that space and not fill it.
But it has been argued that it is the spaces between notes that make symphonies great. In much the same way, when we went to the Monastery at Snowmass, I was touched by white space. Snowmass is a Trappist Monastery, which means they take vows of silence. Only at one meal, and at the times of prayer are they permitted to use words. This manifests itself when they do gather, as each aspect of the service has a ponderous space between them. For those of us who are immersed in a world of noise, the silence can be oppressive. But it makes the words they do speak stand out against the backdrop of silence.
I heard these words from the Book of Mark very clearly at the service we attended...
'But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.' (Mark 7:26)
Randy Harris has said that the only Bible Study Question that matters is, 'how MUST my life be different because I believe God's word to be true?'. In other words, how can I hear God's words and put them into practice?
Maybe it is the white space that allows us to concentrate on the words of life. Can you give yourself enough space to really HEAR from God? Or is your life so busy and so full that you there are no margins in your life?
1 comment:
Perhaps this is why I so often desire quiet solitude in places like River Legacy. Sometimes it allows me to think or just listen, but I truly struggle at discerning God's voice from my own. I don't believe I have much self-control over my mind... it wanders from the past to the future and attempts to justify what I think is right. There have been times though where, in solitude, I was able to silence the crowd in my head and in turn felt God's presence around me. It is never an answer to some needless question, but instead it is just a feeling of completeness, as though I knew someone was praying for me at that moment. I am so very thankful for those times. I only wish I was more disciplined at silencing the meaningless anxieties of my thoughts.
Post a Comment