“And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭4:39‬ ‭ESV‬‬http://bible.com/59/mrk.4.39.esv

Sometimes silence is not golden.

Sometimes it echoes an ache in our hearts. 

Sometimes silence is the only possible response.

Sometimes silence brings about peace, a still spirit that calms our raging storms. 

Re-homing my heart can sometimes be like calming a storm. 

The panoramic photo  above is from Pease Creek.  This is the summer swimming hole where I grew up learning how to stay on top of the water.  Our family frequented this place often during the years before the last two babies were born. 

The winds of forgone years can come rushing in and create a hurricane of emotions. Whenever I go back to these places thoughts come tumbling in like waves after the boat passes.  As a girl I loved riding those waves in a tire inner-tube.  As an adult I don’t enjoy dealing with the driftwood of yesteryear .

Leaving behind the sadness is not possible when another heart is that intertwined with ours. Like a braided rope with a fre, it is somehow weaker. Recently my uncle passed away. This was the second death of that generation on my dad’s side of the family.  My aunt in that side of the family passed on years earlier. This uncle was a little closer both in distance and by the frequency of time spent together-closer also in relationship.  

After his passing my heart aches for my cousins and his wife, my aunt. There are sometimes no answers for the ache that they feel. My cousin came to visit me on her vacation. We went to visit the local butterfly house. While there the reward for being still is usually a beautiful butterfly. 



At one point she had three butterflies landed on her.  It was fun trying to get pictures of them. I struggled with my eyesight to find them. But being still and staring into different locations gifted me with some beautiful winged views. 

That evening just as we laced up our shoes for a walk, we had company stop by.  The greenhouse instead of a walk was the answer to their arrival. My heart was overwhelmed by the peace in that moment of stillness as we visited amongst the vegetables.

Putting Seymour out for summer proved difficult.  His shedding had become an overwhelming cleaning chore. His whine and paw at the door was annoying, but it  signaled his presence. Last night after our quick motorcycle ride to the local park, the silence that greeted us was disheartening.  “Really?” I thought .  Would he really have followed us ? 

Suddenly silence was no longer golden. I cried myself to sleep as I thought of my cousin’s ache for her dad. Memories are the only response to the silence that echoes her loss.  

Thoughts of re-homing Seymour had  not seemed inappropriate while he sat smiling at us on the deck. Now that he wasn’t there when we arrived back home those same thoughts horried me.  Had I broken his heart? 

His story doesn’t end here, as we have located him and he should be home soon.

Sometimes silence brings about peace, a still spirit that calms our raging storms. 

Sometimes silence is not golden. 

Dedicated to my favorite Uncle Bob and our silly Seymour.