Anyone who is an artist of any sorts knows the importance of
the gaps. Gaps or spaces are as important as the brush strokes that are on the
page. Gaps or spaces are filled in with your eye to make the whole whether or
not be a hidden bit of branch from a tree or a suggestion of a person sitting
or standing by a beautiful scene the skill of the artist is as much about the
use of spaces as about the use of detail, in fact the space makes the detail.
The same could be said about the gift of composing beautiful
music – the pause is as important as the note itself and adds texture, emotion
and meaning.
So why in our world when we see gaps as being important to
add to artistic beauty are we so frightened of gaps or spaces in our lives? It seems to me that we live life generally at
150% most of the time. Even our children suffer the delight of busyness as they
are rushed from one frenetic activity to another never giving time to sit and
relax and switch off. And what about our
adult lives. How often do you like me when asked the how are you question reply
with the answer “Busy!” Most of our
lives revolve around rushing around from one thing to another even those who
are recently retired comment that they don’t know how they found time to work
before. Busyness is a condition in our society and I am afraid to say leads not
only to personal stress but little time to appreciate the needs of others. On
top of this busyness leads us to do lots but most dangerously does not allow us
time to “be”. We may be busy even in our
church lives doing lots of worthy things but surreptitiously our busyness
pushes God out of the equation as we fail to take time to realise who He is and
what is our calling as His children.
So what can we do about this? I think we can yet again learn
from our children in this and from the artists mentioned at the beginning of
this piece. When children were asked what they liked about their time of
collective worship at school they answered
- the chance to be quiet! Wow, not what you would expect as we normally
like to hype children up and think they enjoy things when they are wound up and
excited. But no the answer was clear. For them the important part of worship
was being still and quiet and in this way open to God. They enjoyed the spaces,
the gap as it were from the day to day routine of rushing around. The gap of
silence added to the beauty of their experience of that day, allowing space for
God within it.
So what about us? How
do we add some space in our day for silence and to “be”. Silence can be a frightening thing for most
of us who are used to noise around us all the time. But silence can allow that
space for thought and reflection and God time, to allow God to minister to us
at a very deep level. I am fortunate to be able to go on retreat once a year
and enjoy the chance to be silent within it, but most of us I know do not have
such opportunities but there are still ways we can add silence into our lives.
So here are a few suggestions:
·
At each meal time just take a few minutes of
quiet before you start eating if you are able perhaps have a silent meal once
or twice a week too
·
If you enjoy a walk read a passage of scripture
perhaps a psalm before going out for a walk and use your walk as a reflective
time
·
When you go to church sit quietly in the
pew/chair for a few minutes before the start of the service – don’t use this
time to catch up with friends that can be done at the end of the service!
·
At the end of the day give yourself some time to
reflect on the day and where you were able to see God within it.
So I guess my challenge to us all is not to mind the gaps
but to enjoy them and appreciate the chance to develop the beauty of our
relationship with God within them.
No comments:
Post a Comment