Could I have your attention, PLEASE ?!

My throat was aching last night as the symptoms of the bad cold I have today began to set in. I stood beside the roaring fireplace at Sportsman's Lodge in Studio City and tried to get the attention of 50 or so people that I did not know. It was time to start a wedding rehearsal. "Ahem! Could I have your attention, PLEASE ?!"

This morning has been wonderful! In spite of the bad cold I have felt a noticeable serenity around me. I have prayed without interruption. I have read the bible without interruption. I have even conducted a small amount of business without interruption. Then it dawned on me, "I forgot my cell phone at home this morning!"

I wonder if God ever feels like I felt last night, "Could I have your attention, PLEASE ?!" "Please? I have something I want to share with you." "I have an answer for one of your many questions!" "I want to spend time with you!"

In the Ozark mountains of Missouri, there is a Buddhist monastery. The monks there allow people of different religions to come in and use the monastery for prayer and meditation. I have a friend who has taken a few journeys to this monastery to practice solitude. (Do we remember what that is?) Jay told a few of us about his experiences there. In that stone building, with no heating or air conditioning, with nothing electrical of any kind, you sit. Jay said that after about an hour of sitting the silence almost becomes deafening. As you continue to sit there you become acutely aware of how loud your own body is. Your stomach growls, your joints groan, your heart loudly pounds in your chest. He went on to say that as you acclimate to the silence and the noise of your body, you face the greatest noise of all. The noise in your head. The brain is that kid in class that always has to say something, no matter how ridiculous or in appropriate it is! Jay told us that the hardest battle is to get your mind to be quiet and wait upon God.

Isaiah 40:31 Isaiah 40:31 (KJV)
31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Most birds molt at least once a year. That is they lose their old feathers and get new ones. The old feathers have lost their freshness and their ability to lift the bird through the air. They become tattered and old. The bird is not able to soar quite as high as with fresh feathers. A new set of feathers is needed to reach the heights of yesterday.
It is said that most of the bird family quit molting after they reach their prime. As the bird ages it has to adjust to the reality that it will never do what it used to do. It doesn't have the fresh feathers that it used to have.
The exception to the rule is the eagle. Eagles continue to molt until they die. The heights of the heavens are never lost to them.
The prophet tell us that if we will wait upon the Lord, we will renew our strength. Our spirits need never get old. Our Holy Ghost needs never get old. Our vision never should get old. Like the eagle we will mount up, lift up on fresh wings.
We can continue to run, without becoming "...weary in well doing". We can walk on, without passing out!

Wait upon the Lord!

He's the one over there calling... "Ahem! Could I have your attention, PLEASE ?!"