Turning Away From The Noise

Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things which you have not known - Jeremiah 33:3

I don't know about you but every time I open my browser the news du jour makes me want to live in a hermitage in sackcloth and ashes praying 24/7.  But instead of actually praying I find myself sucked in on the drama feeling all sorts of anger, disgust, and disbelief.  By the time I've had enough, despair begins to seep in leaving no room for supplication. Even my meager attempts at praying is disjointed and distracted by the woes of the world.  

Recently, I have decided to make an actual, honest-to-goodness effort to turn my gaze away.  Whenever I get into these hope-sucking vortices, the Lord is merciful enough to put His hand out to pull me back to a life of focus.  The despairing world gets put back into it's proper place on the bottom of my worries. There was a meme floating around that said "if you have time to worry you have time to pray".  If I spent as much praying as I do worrying about the state of the world I know it could change my life and possibly the life of the one for whom I pray. I don't know who said that the first hour of our day should belong to God but that is exactly the advice I took to get back on the road to prioritizing prayer.  It helps that my mornings are not as crazy as last year .  I've been making the extra effort to wake up before everyone else.  This allows me the quiet to pray and to read the prescribed Scripture readings.  I have forgotten how beautiful silence is, both the external and the internal. There are no words to describe the hum of silence and it's connection to the divine. This is so helpful in setting the tone for my day.  It helps me see my life's circus in a reasonable manner, providing a calm that springs not from my own reserves but from the One who is faithful to his promises.  And I think that's what the world sorely lacks -  a sense of promise, a sense of hope, and frankly, a sense of the Divine. 

How are you dealing with the woes of the world around you?

one of the hymnals on display at the Jubilee Museum