Silence.

This past Thursday, Krista had us participate in a 5 hour silent retreat. Now for most people this wouldn't be anything difficult, but for a chatter box like me it wasn't the easiest thing in the world. I knew that in order for me to be able to do this to the fullest extent I would need to get out of the house where I would be tempted to talk. I headed downtown to Millenium Park. Well I couldn't find it so I ended up sitting under a shady tree in a different park for awhile. We were supposed to spend this time reflecting, reading our bible, journaling, singing or anything else that came to mind as long as we weren't talking or surrounding ourselves with noise or technology. I didn't mind this activity, but it wasn't my favorite thing in the world either. I was able to concentrate on reflection, journaling and reading for about half of the time, but then realized I was getting bored. So I continued my silent retreat while walking around downtown Chicago. The part that was hardest for me was while I was on the EL. Usually I like to talk to others around me, but on this particular day I couldn't. At one part of the day, I found myself down near the beach. It was a beautiful sunny day and the water was super blue as I looked across Lake Michigan. This was my favorite time of the day, as I was able to stand there in silence and marvel at God's great works. As much as I didn't enjoy this activity, I think it was a good thing for me to do. It slowed me down, made me think, and gave me time to myself which is a rare thing to get in a house of 18 people.