The Melody of Silence.

However, when we state our desires to "be like Jesus" we are not referring to Jesus' anonymous years. " I want to walk like Jesus walked and live like Jesus lived," is generally not equated in our hearts with "I want to live 90% of my life in absolute obscurity!" (Anonymous, Jesus' Hidden years...and yours by Alicia Britt Chole)

I find myself in constant comparison, desperate to find something to measure my life to that of others.  Wanting and hoping that somehow I'm on the right track and that my life is moving in the direction that society labels acceptable.  I struggle with wanting a house, a newer car, wanting a baby: non of which are bad things to want or dream of. However, the problem I find is that I long more for fitting in with the status-quo then I do with finding contentment in who God made me to be and where He has placed me today.  I compare and I envy and I wonder if so and so is somehow more successful or has more worth than me. You try to make the right decisions and follow after God but sometimes the right choices for our lives are lived in silence, are practiced through patience, and are evidenced by stillness.  A friend asks you consistently, "when are you having a baby?" and you cant help but wonder if there is something wrong with you for not having an answer.  You see others moving into new houses, getting new jobs, taking exciting trips, and accomplishing impressive goals but sometimes the greatest accomplishments can not be evidenced by the human eye.

Waiting on God, I feel, is one of the hardest exercises of faith.  It can take many seasons of silence and obscurity before God brings in His perfect timing the desires of our heart. We live our lives showcasing character by status updates and accomplishments, but true character is developed and displayed in the quiet--in the silence--in the waiting, when there is no physical evidence to our effort except our consistent character of faith in relying on God.

"What would Jesus do?" we ask sincerely. Well, for starters, he embraced a life of hiddeness. As we will soon see, Jesus's hidden years empowered him to live an enternally fruitful life."

The silence prepares us for the noise of life and in God's timing both create the musical symphony of life.