Isn’t this picture inviting?
Time spent on the front porch when was a kid was viewed as worthwhile. We didn’t have cell phone distraction or computers to keep us up on the latest trend and the ability to buy those items with only the push of a button. Life can get frantic in this new age of advanced technology and fast page living, but it doesn’t have to be so.
When I was ten our family moved to a community that had a small white church that graced one of the two hills of that small sleepy town of mostly senior citizens. This little church was a Quaker church. My mother had been raised a in a Quaker family and so we became a part of that congregation. I found they had much to teach that would add to my later life.
Quakers, prominent founders in our nations history, believed in quietness, their intention while here on earth was to live with integrity, responsible work habits and love of
God and family. Their lives were simple and their faith uncomplicated.They believed in listening for the voice of God to give direction on a daily basis. They didn’t stress religion, they stressed a relationship with the Almighty.
I remember going to their youth camps as a youth and later as a counselor. They would meet each evening on a hillside viewing Durart Lake, just as the sun was setting.
Quietness engulfed the hillside as campers immersed with nature’s voices of songbirds, the occasional bark of a friendly dog and the warmth of a summer day. There was no order of program for the gatherings, but somehow a feeling of oneness prevailed and young and old would share thoughts that came. Students were learning the value of a quiet spirit.

In the Bible, the story of Elijah, the prophet (I Kings 19: 11-13) gives us a message of what to do when the complexities of life tend to
try our patience.
Elijah was having a hard time with Queen Jezabel, Queen of Israel. Why? Because she and King Ahab were commanding the nation of Israel to worship Baal instead of Almighty God. They had even gone as far as to kill many of God’s prophets to encourage this. Acting on a leading from God, Elijah boldly confronted them, which enraged the King and Queen. So Queen Jezebel sent a message to Elijah declaring,”May the gods punish me and do so severely if I don’t make your life as one like the one of them.”
Then Elijah became afraid and ran for his life to the wilderness and ask the Lord that he might die. As he lie down to sleep, an angel appeared and told him to get up and eat food prepared for him. He did, but lay down again. A second angel appear and told him to get up and eat food prepared for him, then told him he must make a 40 day journey and he would need the nourishment of food for the journey. After that, he obeyed and he walked the long distance to Mt. Horeb and spent the night in a cave.
Another word from the Lord asked “What are you doing here Elijah? So Elijah began to tell God all of his troubles, how the Queen had declared to have him killed and many of God’s prophets had been killed and he was an only one left and he wanted to die, then he stood at the mouth of the cave and waited. A great and mighty wind followed, but God was not in the wind, a powerful earthquake occurred, but God was in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was the fire, but God was not in the fire, then after the fire came a still small voice and Elijah heard it and was given direction of what to do.
Our experiences may not be as drastic as Elijah’s but in our days on earth, we will experience some earth shattering episodes that can put us in a state of confusion and fear, such as Elijah experienced. But are lives aren’t meant to be lived in frantic existence. Finding places for quietness is our source of strength. Our Creator and All-Knowing God will be there in the still small voice. If we truly seek Him, we will find Him.