11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
1 Kings 19:11-13 New International Version (NIV)
I have loved this passage since I became a believer. I just loved the story of God not being a violent, loud, destructive voice, but rather a gentle whisper.
But I hope this is a safe place to say that since becoming a mother, my view of this passage has become a little jaded. Why? Because I’m not sure I can always hear God’s gentle whisper above my boys making gun noises while playing “Battle Turtles.” My life is loud.
So here’s the truth: God and I have been having a conversation. I trust that God is not a manipulative or game-playing guy. I trust that He wants my heart, and when He has a message for me, He wants me to hear it. And I affirm that God’s Spirit is living within me and working in my life. But when I had 4 kids age 6 and under, it wasn’t always as quiet as being “on a mountain in the presence of the Lord.” So I told God that I trust that He is going to speak clearly to me in a way that I could hear. And I’m at peace with that.
I don’t think He’s going to whisper the secret of life to someone and say, “Ha! You missed it! You don’t get to hear from God because you were distracted by your toddler’s temper tantrum.” That just doesn’t sound like the God I know. The God I know speaks in whispers, but we also see God communicate through thunder and fire and dreams and healings and wine and music and mud and electrons and miracles and babies and bread. He creates galaxies with his spoken word. I think He can figure out how to speak to me in a way I can hear.
Certainly, I love it when I get quiet space to be in the presence of the Lord, especially if it’s on a mountain. I cherish those times. And now that my kids are all in elementary school I get that much more often. But I believe the gospel is for all people– even moms of toddlers. And I believe that God wants to proclaim His message. Which is good. Because I want to hear it.
P.S. Battle Turtles is a game in which you put a laundry basket on your back and pretend to be a turtle. Typically the turtle-brothers want to battle each other, so you can hide under your turtle-shell-laundry-basket in a defensive mode, or you can run around holding the basket to your back in offensive mode making gun noises and chasing your turtle-brother.