The Still, Small Voice

My cousin("in-law", actually) is Senior Pastor of a lovely congregation in Wauwatosa, WI. Here is an excerpt from their monthly newsletter that touched my heart and made me smile:


A week ago my friend, Maurleen, called with sad news: Her cat, Walter had disappeared. She feared he had jumped off the balcony of her second floor apartment while she was filling the bird feeders. Walter had disappeared before. This time, however, he was not to be found. Friends and neighbors walked and drove around the neighborhood searching; pictures were posted. They surrounded her with care and concern.

Maureen commented that Walter's loss was "just one more hurdle." Her husband had died some months before. So Walter had been company and comfort to her.

This afternoon I received another call from Maurleen: Walter had been found ... in the drawer of her old oak filing cabinet! While sitting in her bedroom, weeping, she heard the slightest sound. She opened a drawer and there was Walter! He seemed OK for a cat that had been without water or food for a week. A checkup with the vet the next morning confirmed that Walter was, indeed, OK.

After we ended our conversation my first thought was "what was lost, now is found" and of the Biblical stories of the widow who searched for her lost coin or the shepherd searching for the lost sheep.

And then I thought of how remarkable it was that when Maurleen was so sad, so lonely, a small voice called to her and she heard. Maybe she paused in looking long enough to listen.

In their book, Spiritual Literacy, Frederick and Mary Ann Brussart write about the importance of listening. "We begin our lives listening to the many sounds surrounding us in the womb. When we are dying, the last faculty to shut down is usually hearing. In between, there is so much to see that we seldom take time to cultivate the art of listening."

My four-year-old granddaughter, Gracie, is a chatterbox and I think she realizes that we sometimes "tune her out." So, when she wants my serious attention she says, "Grammie, can I tell you something?" And I listen.

It is as if God is saying, "Can I tell you something? I love you so much I am sending my son to tell you even more. Are you listening?"