Clearing out the cluttter

If you've read the blog you know that right now I am not working and struggle some days with not having enough to do. If you knew me before we moved out here, you would know that I was a teacher of two different high school science classes and had a very busy, stressful life. Fun, but busy a lot of the time. Now I am anything but busy. Because of this lack of busy-ness and stress that often filled my mind, I've had a very interesting revelation.

I hear, feel and experience God more. Maybe that sounds weird so let me explain. Before moving out here, when I studied the Bible it was usually squeezed into 20-25 minutes right when I woke up in the morning (at 5am) before work or maybe a calm Saturday morning. In those few minutes when you're half awake and have a very short time to study, there's hardly any time for God to really speak to you. There's hardly any time to think about what you're reading and how that applies to your life before you're on to the next thing. I'm not saying that I didn't get anything out of it or didn't grow or experience God but compare that to now...

I have time. Precious, much-desired, fleeting time to study God's word. I have time to sit and pray. I have time to reflect and read books. I have time to hear God speak (not audibly of course, but in my heart). When the busy-ness of my mind has quieted out here, I can experience God more. I feel more of the urgency to obey what he has asked me to do. I feel more of what he feels when he sees the people who don't know him. I feel more of what he feels when he sees people who don't have a place to sleep or enough food to eat. I feel more.

I don't want anyone to feel resentful about or envious of this brief moment in my life right now. I share this with everyone just to share that it really is true what our pastors say or what missionaries say, when we empty our minds from the things of this world, we fill it with the things of God. My mind has been emptied lately and as a result God is closer. I wish and pray that somehow in the midst of chaos that is the American life, that all would be able to empty their minds of the things of this world to hear God.

For some reason, God has put me in this place where finding a job that fits my needs is difficult. He has put me in this place where I don't have enough to do. I don't know why he has but I have experienced the biggest blessing from it. I know this most definitely won't last forever and at some point I will reflect on this time and wish I could de-clutter my mind to hear Him more clearly. For now though, I will continue to listen and ask Him to keep speaking.