When I was a kid, my dad and I had an inside joke - anytime there was an annoying commercial on tv, we would press the mute button and say "God Bless the Mute Man!" (the guy who invented the mute application) Now as an adult, my husband and I sometimes try to "mute" the other person with our remote control when the other gets annoying. Well, this last week God pressed the mute button and pointed it towards me. I developed laryngitis out of no where and today is day four. The first three days I literally couldn't say a word, except for whispering. Today I am able to 'croak' out some words but still have a few days till I'll be back to my verbose and articulate self! The first day (as expected) Jason made some jokes and was grateful for my silence. Last night at dinner he said "I may eat these words later, but I miss you being able to talk." It's SO hard to manage life without a voice. Especially as a therapist - my sessions were awkward to say the least. Ordering chicken nuggets at Wendy's - awkward. Not being able to say hello to coworkers as they pass me on the sidewalk and say hi - awkward. Of all the things we need to communicate, a voice is imperative.
However...silence is golden, or so they say in the movie theaters. Not being able to speak allows for lots of thinking time. The other night I decided to read the story of Zechariah (John the Baptist's dad) who was muted for nine whole months till his son was born. Nine months...holy cow! I can barely handle a few days. God usually strips people of what allows them comfort and assurance so we'll listen a bit more. During the last two weeks, God has stripped me of:
-living in Virginia
-the assurance of my nice home
-the security of my job, which was recently a new promoted position
-the stability of knowing where we'll be at the end of the year
-my voice!
Hmmm...what am I supposed to be hearing out of all of this? I don't have a firm answer yet, but interested to see what God is saying. God bless the mute man!
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