Voices?!?!
Everyone has one and it can be used for much good or much bad. I grew up with a father who we teased had "the voice", and you sure didn't want to be on the receiving end of "the voice". It usually meant you were in pretty big trouble. But somehow he managed to win our respect and even reverance without really raising his voice.
Voices can be raised in beautiful song, can be used as cheers at many sporting events, can be a quiet whisper of love to a child.
But what does God's voice sound like?
In youth choir one year, we did a musical that featured SSV as a main character in the play. The SSV was God's Still Small Voice. This voice choose to speak to the main characters in voices that we could hear but the other cast members could not at the time. I have always loved the idea of God's Still Small Voice. After all, in Psalms it tells us to "Be stil and know that I am God". Possibly implying that we must be quiet in order to hear God speak to us.
But I have had a few experiences in my life, when God's voice is neither Still nor Small. It is almost as if I have heard a real voice saying as plan as day what I should do. And yes, it scared me spitless the first time I "heard" it.
The first time I remember hearing God's voice was when Russell and I had really just become friends. And I heard an almost audible voice tell me that I was going to marry this guy. Imagine my shock! What? I hardly know him! Well of course 2 1/2 years later we were engaged, and now we have been married for 12 years!
The next real time I remember God speaking to me in that audible voice was before Molly was born. In fact God told me I was pregnant with Molly before I physically knew, but he also encouraged me over this time with Claire. I remember talking to him about how hard it was to watch Claire suffer, and I remember him telling me that he knew, and he understood suffering. And then I remember asking him "why?", "why us", "why now?", "why Claire?" And his answer was as plain as day... "Because I love you"! WOW! speachless! And today it gives me goosebumps to think of a love so vast and strong and amazing!
But his latest audible voice to me that came out of the blue, really.... was that I needed to take Hope to Nicaragua with me this year when our church is going! What? take a 7 year old overseas on a mission trip? Am I crazy? Apparently so.... because she has been approved to go by everyone I could ask about it... God moves in amazing ways, and I am so glad he chooses to talk to me sometimes!
