It was almost the middle of winter, it had been cold, but hardly any snow had fallen. Then suddenly there was a stretch of very warm weather that winter. It surprised everyone! The kids came to Dave’s campfire to hear a story, but there was no campfire that night. Dave was there, the wood was arranged in the firepit, and everything was ready, but the fire was not lit. The kids asked Dave why he had not lit the fire, and he told them that since it was so warm they were going to do a special activity that was usually done in the summer or early fall. Dave gave each of the kids a flashlight and told them that they were to use the flashlight to go a short distance into the woods, then they were to turn the flashlight off.
Dave told the kids that once they were in their chosen spot, with the light off, they were to remain still and quiet for 15 minutes and just listen to the sounds of the woods. Their cell phones needed to silenced and stay in their pockets the whole time. Since it was winter, there would be no mosquitoes or other bugs to bother them! The kids asked how they would know when the 15 minutes were up, and Dave told them that he would light the fire when it was time to come back.
The kids each went into the wood in a different direction. Some of the kids were scared, so they did not go very far. Other kids were more adventurous, and they went further from the campfire area. Soon all the flashlights were turned off, and the 15 minutes of quietness began. Some of the kids thought the 15 minutes lasted a long, long time, but others thought the 15 minutes went by very quickly.
When the 15 minutes were over, Dave lit the campfire, and immediately flashlights were turned on, and the kids began making their way back to the campfire. Once they were all back, Dave passed out some treats, and while they were eating Dave asked them what they had heard while they were being quiet in the woods.
Some of the kids talked about animal noises that they had heard. They mentioned hearing owls and a few birds. They also mentioned that they had heard something walking through the dead leaves on the ground, and this had scared them. They thought that maybe it was a bear! Dave assured them that the only large animals in this part of the woods were deer, and the deer would not have come this close to a group of people. They had probably heard a smaller animal such as a raccoon.
Some of the kids talked about the noise of the trees. The needles on the pine tree make a soft noise as they rub together in the slight breeze. The trees that had lost their leaves for the winter also made noise; their bare branches made creaking noises as they rubbed against each other in the breeze. There were some trees (oaks) that still had their dead leaves attached to the branches, and these dried leaves made a rustling noise as the breeze moved them.
One of the kids said that they had focused on the sound of water. They could hear the ice on the river cracking and making noise because the warm weather was making the ice thinner. There were a few areas of open water on the river, and they could hear moving water. Also, when they listened closely, they could hear water dripping off the tree branches as the last of the snow melted.
One of the kids had brought their little sister with them that night, and this little girl just said, “I heard the sound of silence, there was so much of it!”
Dave told the kids that it is good to sometimes just go by yourself, be quiet, and listen. There is so much in this beautiful world that we miss because our lives are too busy and too noisy! Listening to nature is great! It is relaxing and refreshes our spirits, but the most important thing to listen to is God!
In the Bible in Psalms 46:10 God says:
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
God tells us to take time to just be quiet and realize that He is God over everything! It boggles our mind when we realize that we cannot understand how big and awesome He is! God is far greater than nature, He made every good thing that we can see, hear, or feel, and He is far greater than we can imagine.
God wants us to take time to be quiet and think about Him! When we hear a Bible lesson, or we read something in our Bible, then He wants us to take some time to be still and be quiet. During these quiet times we give God a chance to work in our heart. We might receive peace about a problem we are struggling with. We might feel God nudging us, in our heart, about a decision that we must make. We might feel God’s love for us in a bigger way than we have ever felt it before! The secret is to take time to be still and quiet with God!
Start making a habit of doing this, you will never regret it!