It has been really hot and humid here in Kansas City for the last few days; in fact, I think the heat index today was like 500 degrees. Just stepping outside felt like walking into a sauna, and I was instantly hot and sweaty. I decided to wait until almost dark tonight to go for my walk on the trail, which, quite honestly, is a tiny bit creepy to me. J.R.'s back is still bothering him a bit, so he hasn't walked with me in several weeks, which means I'm all alone on a very dark trail when I walk so late in the evening.
Tonight as I walked, I could hear the nighttime sounds even with my headphones in and Chris Tomlin blaring in my ears. I wasn't too far along on the path when a voice within me began to say, "Turn off the music, and listen to the night." As I often do, I argued for a while with that voice ... "I don't want to listen to the night; the night is scary." But the farther I walked, the stronger the voice spoke to me. "Turn off the music, and listen to the night." I turned off my music and started listening, really listening, to the sounds of the night.
The crickets were in full force tonight, along with the cicadas, and I soon found myself walking in rhythm to their chirping song. I heard the croaking of frogs in the creek, the sound of the wind in the trees, the meow of a cat across the street ... I even heard the hoot of an owl from high up in a tree. I said out loud to the night, "It sounds like a jungle out here tonight." As the words left my lips, a thought stomped its way into my brain. I am in a jungle ... a jungle filled with wild beasts and uncharted territories. A jungle where there are tasks that seem insurmountable, issues that seem impossible to overcome, where wild beasts lurk around the bend ready to devour me at any moment.
As I made my turn to head home, I suddenly had the overwhelming desire to stop and pray ... right on the trail in the now very dark and sticky night. In fact, I had the urge to stop at a bench, get down on my knees and pray ... to pray for my children ... to pray for my friends ... to pray for my brother and sister ... to pray for my church and its leadership ... to pray for myself ... that God would make His will for my life crystal clear to me, that He would take me out of the jungle I so often find myself in and place me in the safety of His well cared for garden of love, redemption, forgiveness and grace.
When I rose from my knees and started for home, I better understood why I felt so driven to listen to the sounds of the night. It is a jungle out there, but in the shelter of God's loving arms, covered by His mercy, I'm always safe, always cared for, always protected. And suddenly, the sounds of the night weren't so scary any longer ... they were music ... sweet, sweet music for my soul.
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