It makes a big difference in how you feel just knowing someone is present.

For the last week, my wife has been away and I’ve been on my own.

Lily said she was going to worry about me, but her biggest worry was whether I would eat all my meals at fast food restaurants. Her plan was to stock the freezer with as many meals as she could cook up beforehand.

The day before she left we were talking in the kitchen before dinner. When she checked on the food in the oven I was surprised to see she had two trays of meat cooking in there. 

I asked, “What’s all that for?” and her reply was that she was preparing it all for me to eat while she was away. 

You’d think that was a great sacrifice for her to do that for me. Really her motive was to hopefully keep me from spending money at McDonald’s, Swiss Chalet or my favourite wing place. 

Well, I did eat all the meals she froze for me, but I also ate my share of restaurant food too. 

During the week on my own, I noticed a couple of things.

I certainly had time to do things on my own, what I wanted to do … things just for me. 

But I found that my life has a number of built-in responsibilities, so I didn’t have all that much discretionary time on my hands.

If I wanted to watch a movie at night, I really could choose the movie of my liking. I didn’t have to consider what Lily might like to watch.

But I had a couple of meetings that happened to be in the evenings and I worked late a couple of other nights. That didn’t leave me with many nights I could sit down with a good action flick of my choosing. 

I also found myself doing things that I might not have done if Lily had have been home. Like the night I decided to open my computer after dinner and spend a little time finishing up what I had been working on during the day.

I guess I just had the freedom to do what I wanted to do, when I wanted to do it, no questions asked.

But I noticed something else about the week. It was quiet in the house. 

Other than a little tinnitus ringing in my ears, there were no other sounds. There were no sounds of a chair moving in the other room. There was no sound of footsteps on the hardwood upstairs.

The house was very quiet; you could hear every click that the clocks were making. 

I realized then that there is a feeling you have when you know there is someone close by. You don’t have to be in the same room; you don’t have to have a conversation. There is something special about having someone present in the same house.

Here’s the thing: We often think of God having a thunderous voice, possibly a harsh voice. But when He wanted to talk to one prophet, He talked to him in a whisper. It’s not easy to catch what God might be saying to you through scripture or while you are praying. You really have to pay attention and listen carefully. It’s like He whispers to you. The reason God speaks in whispers is because He is close by. God is near you. And it is special having someone present with you all the time. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you appreciate about the presence of someone in your life? Leave your comments and questions below.

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