The Voice of Truth

 I remember, when I was a teenager, the absolutely most totally rad thing ever was a device called "The Walkman."  I mean...there was nothing better than that thing...at least in my book.  Of course, I didn't have money for an original "Walkman" so I had to make due with a generic brand.  At a small fraction of the cost of the slick, Sony-no-baloney, my player did the work.  I loved that gadget.  I'd slide a cassette in, put those spongy, orange headphones over my ears, hit play...and it was as if the world would disappear. It was pure bliss.

I did not walk around with my headphones on, though.  My parents would not have allowed it.  I could only use it in my room, after I was done with my school work...but boy, were those moments of uninterrupted music enjoyment the BEST!

I guess I forget about those days when I too, used to shut the world out with my headphones...sigh. Nowadays, I complain about the youth permanently wearing their earbuds, like unseemly appendixes sticking out of their earlobes...I complain about how they come to class with those things inside their ears, and how, if I'm lucky, they might take one off to half hear whatever lesson I've spent endless hours preparing.  I complain about how they walk around like zombies, completely disconnected from the world around them, listening to who knows what, being played straight to their brains...and I forget I might have done the same thing to a degree back in the day...

There are so many voices in our heads, it is hard to hear when the truth calls.  We can't recognize it in the noise.  We all walk around mindlessly.  Lost.

I am guilty too.  I might not put on headphones at night to dive into my musical, parallel universe anymore.  But I surely spend countless hours listening to voices that feed my insecurities and my doubts.  I hear the drum, drum, drum of my negativity.  I block the words of my loved ones trying to speak the truth to me, and only hear the rattle and hum of lies.  The orange headsets are long gone, but I'm still disconnected from my source of life...

God's love does not yell.  He whispers.  He doesn't generally use a megaphone.  He speaks as soft as the gentle breeze of a summer eve...and yes, it could be easily missed.

I pray this season of Lent allows us a chance to tune in to the voice of Truth.  I pray for the youth of today, but also for the youth of yesteryears, because we all need to hear the lessons the Lord has prepared for us so tenderly...we all need to reverse our course, block everything else, and just hear His voice, calling out our names.  May Jesus' voice prevail.  Amen!