I’m certain that our neighbors will be relieved when our back porch project is completed. For a few early mornings, the hammers and saws have broken the peace and quiet near our home. Building is a noisy job.

This interruption to the quiet and peace that we are accustomed to has caused me to meditate on the essence of “quiet.” We live on a noisy planet but of our own making. God’s creation far exceeds what man can ever do, and God does it in silence.

As the moon and earth move in their orbits, they do it in silence. The stars glitter from the night skies, but there’s no sputtering or burning sounds. The sun makes its daily climb above the horizon in great splendor but devoid of grinding or mechanical sounds.

When the petals on a rose bud gradually open or any bud about to display its Creator’s grand touch, they do it in total silence. It’s unimaginable to picture a single proud bloom eking out a voice that says, “Look at me!”

Birds and beasts enter the mode of sounds, but they’re limited in the ability. None possess a vocabulary except for their few notes or their prescribed cries.

Man alone is responsible for roaring motors, sonic blasts, large and small explosions, honking horns, squealing sirens, booming sound boxes, and non-stop talk shows. We have adapted to the environment of noise and contribute a good supply of our own.

Somehow we instill in the next generation the notion to accept noise as a constant companion instead of being still and entertaining silence. Our complex society knows volumes of information, but do we know how to be still — to be absent from all noise?

A favorite verse, Psalm 46:10, says, “Be still, and know that I am God.”

Knowing God melts away all other priorities on our life lists. The “how-to” is being still in His presence and allowing Him to invade our minds and spirits —minus all the noise.

Letters to Camille Anding can be sent to P.O. Box 551, Brookhaven, MS, 39602, or e-mailed to camille@datalane.net.