Hearing the depth of my silence
I can feel traces of my childhood
When my heart was so full of laughter
Before the veil of judgment covered my eyes

But why does the silence seem empty now?
Is there a shadow on my soul?
Or is the silence within me now
Just my spirit waiting to unfold - - -
my soul will rise

{My soul is the silence alive
Here me now, watch my spirit fly
I will come to understand}

Hearing the truth in my silence
I reclaim the innocence of childhood
Lighting the path to a new day
Leading ever upward my spirit will fly.

Reflection - "In the Silence"

This song speaks of the innocence of childhood. It seems interesting to me that our most innocent time was also a time of great faith. When we were children we found it much easier to trust others and the world around us. But a part of our human condition is the need to break away. We set out on a journey toward self-reliance. In doing so we must learn to judge and calculate. Without this mechanism we'd never survive long enough to make it anywhere near adulthood. But raising our guard doesn't mean we have to give up our trust and our faith. Neither does growing up require a loss of innocence. As we negotiate our passage into self-sufficiency, we find ourselves scarred by a multitude of painful experiences. The fallout from these battles collects in layers upon our souls, but it does not damage or alter the soul. When negotiated lovingly, these layers can become a protective shield, keeping out the harmful elements that challenge our being. But too often we allow it to create a hard shell around our hearts, choosing cold and bitter attitudes as our form of protection. In this instance we learn to fear the silence, for it suggests vulnerability. We immediately fill the gap with more noise and the layers hardening our hearts grow deeper and more resilient. When our prodigal child finally makes its homecoming, we will be able to place our trust in God and listen to the silence. In this quiet reverence we shall hear the voice of God.