“And I heard a great voice out of Heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.” Rev. 21:3
Recently I’ve been making weekly overnight trips for work. I drive 3 hours in, work 8 and then off to rest. A friend has arranged for me to use her guesthouse on these trips, what a blessing. This house is perfectly decorated, country comfortable. Everything perfectly matches, from the curtains to the coffee cups. It’s like walking into a paradise in the midst of a big bustling city.
You can see the love and care spent in providing every comfort, from aesthetics to bed pillows. Drinking glasses are perfectly lined. Plates and bowls set in order. Every utensil is in its assigned spot. Pictures of things that take you to a different place and time are placed just so, giving the feeling of home. It’s just exactly what I’ve always hoped to have.
I ate my take-out meal and headed for the luxury of a bubble bath, a precious commodity for any working mom. Off I slipped to bed for a completely undisturbed sleep. AAAAHHHH!!!!
I woke early and brewed my morning coffee. I sipped and listened for the signs and sounds of morning. I had no idea that silence could be so loud.
There were no roosters crowing, no husband snoring, no dogs harmonizing. There were no shoes to step over, no children squabbling over the bathroom, no cat curled in my spot on the sofa. There was no peanut butter on the counter, no jelly on the floor sticking to the bottom of my feet. The radios weren’t playing and the washing machine wasn’t running. There were no sounds of life. No laughter, no anger – no joy, no frustration. It was a beautiful, empty shell.
I packed up all my traveling gear and prepared to leave. I went back through, room by room, to make sure I’d left this paradise in the same condition as when I’d arrived. Picture perfect!
Picture perfect! Hhhhmmm? Isn’t that what we can be? We walk out of our homes perfectly attired; matching outfit, shoes and accessories – carefully primped and combed, not a hair out of place. We even spray our favorite fragrance to make a perfectly, well-rounded picture of – of what?
So often we see people who seem so perfect on the outside, but inside they are going mad with the echoes of silence. Some are tortured by the voices of the past, some by the enemy of their souls, telling them to give up their future – they’ll never be “perfect” enough. They overcompensate with exterior perfection to try to fill the hole left inside – by the absence of Jesus.
How many times do we walk past those who seem to have it “all together” and reach out to those in obvious need? How many of those “perfect people” long for someone to stop long enough to tell them how to fill their emptiness? Do we only look at the outward perfection and miss the eyes that search for answers? Do we share a greeting and not listen for the cries of help in their passing replies?
Jesus, help me to hear those cries. Help me to see the emptiness you are ready to fill. Let me never assume that a perfect house equals a home – but that every vessel created by You can only be perfected when Your Holy Spirit fills it. Come Lord Jesus.
Written 8-31-05
Linda J. Humes 
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