Here I am, you called me.

How busy do we allow ourselves to be? Are we so concerned with what's going on around us, almost afraid we'll miss out on something, that we fail to just embrace the quiet? Recent Old Testament stories at Mass have shown that one of the most utilized times in which God speaks to us is in the quiet. Remember as Elijah waited in the cave for God to pass by, that God wasn't in the roaring fire or the heavy winds but rather in the whisper of a breeze. In the story of Samuel and his first encounter with God, God spoke to him in the silence of the night. Soft whispers with words of love, that's how God speaks to us. I suppose the only problem with that is that in order to hear, we need to listen. And with all of the noise and distractions in our lives we need to make some time for listening each day. We all have things we want to accomplish or achieve but the struggle begins when we fail to set our priorities correctly, remembering that without God nothing else really matters.
Quiet is a rare and precious commodity. It is an opportunity to connect with our Father in heaven and to listen. Let us make time for God in our busy lives and prepare ourselves that we may be good servants. May we seek the quiet, open our hearts and when He calls to us may we joyfully answer, "Speak Lord, your servant is listening."