Silence

Have you ever noticed that just before a big storm there is a calm silence? It is an eerie feeling.

The same goes for people. I remember visiting one of my sister-in-laws long ago. Her child was asleep in his bedroom. Suddenly she got up and she said, “Excuse me. I have to go check on him. He’s too quiet.”

Those older than babies are like this. Often you sense that they are “quiet”, but a bit too quiet for their character. They draw into themselves. Quite often friends and family have sensed that something hasn’t been normal, but decided to let it be. I have read many newspaper articles where these loved ones have sensed something to be wrong, but said or did nothing just before a tragic event in the other person’s life. They wish they had paid attention to the signs and done something.

In my life, these times when I have been silenced by where I am in life, I have actually needed to know that people are concerned the most. It may have appeared that I didn’t want contact with anyone, but the opposite has been true.

Recently I attended a meeting where I just wasn’t myself. Something had happened and I was a bit upset. The next day, I received an email from one person. When I got home, there was a message on my phone from another asking if I was OK. You know what? I really appreciated these. It showed that these people cared enough to contact me. They took the risk of sticking their nose in my business. I could have told them to get lost, but they contacted me anyway.

Why?

They showed love. It’s easy to show love when everything is rolling along smoothly and somebody is “up”. You know real love is there when it takes the risk and responds to somebody when things get too silent.