Listening to the voices...

So, I had an epiphanal moment today. During a funeral. When my mind was wandering. And God met me on that meandering path and stopped me in my tracks.

I hear voices. A lot of them. A veritable cacophany, really.

Some of the voices tell me a lot of negative things--I'm too fat, my hair is too red, I'm untrustworthy, my house is dirty, I'm irresponsible, my friends don't really care about me, my beliefs are a load of crap, I waste my money on unimportant things, I'll never really amount to anything, etc. These are LOUD voices. I hear them a lot.

Other voices are different. They tell me I'm loved and beautiful and talented and cherished. They don't always speak so loudly. Sometimes they get drowned out with all that other shouting.

So, on this meandering path today, I was kind of contemplating what the minister was saying--that we'll all face the end of the journey someday and people will be mourning our loss--and kind of thinking about some of those voices (mostly negative) I've been hearing recently. And then I started thinking about the nature of the person to whom each voice belonged.

Integrity speaks quietly but with strength. As does honor. And character. And truth.

The people I most admire, the people with those qualities, are the people speaking in their quiet voices strong words of affirmation and encouragement to me.

I've never heard God speak audibly to me, but I can tell you that I heard his voice today. And his inaudible voice resounded more loudly in my ears and in my heart than all of that negative junk combined.

I choose character over noise. I'm listening to the quiet now.