Lessons from a Collect Call
Good Morning,
In 1977 I was between my junior and senior year in college. As an economics major, I had the opportunity to spend 10 weeks in Europe studying and then traveling. It was an experience I was blessed to participate in. There was a catch, however. I had been dating my now wife for 2 years and the thought of being apart that long was a source of genuine heartache.
The first 6 weeks went fine. I got letters from her several times a week. (This was in the days when you actually had to write on paper and then mail it!) Then we went on the road to different countries and the letters stopped. Each day that went by my mind began to wonder if things were still ok between us. Not hearing from her became such a distraction that taking in all the sights and history became more difficult.
Finally, while in London I could stand it no longer. I had to hear her voice. In that moment, nothing else mattered. So, I made a collect call from London, England to Leo, IN. Her mother answered and she quickly said, “I’ll get Lorene”. She got on the phone, I heard her voice, she reassured me that she had been writing and couldn’t wait to see me. In that moment my outlook on life was recalibrated. Everything was good again.
The last 12 months have seen some pernicious events in our world. Fear, unrest and anger seem to be everywhere. So much so that we can get to the point where all we see and hear is turmoil. In the midst of it all God calls us to something different. He calls us to a place of peace and grounding that is found only in Himself.
The words of Psalm 46:10 provide a remedy that is divinely counter-intuitive. Instead of trying harder and wrestling with life more vigorously God calls us to stillness.” We don’t usually do still very well. We want to hear from God, but what we do is try to make room for Him on the hamster wheel we are stuck on. Instead, God is calling us to pause and get off the wheel.
In London that day, over 40 years ago, my desire to hear Lorene’s voice trumped every other thing in my life. I set aside everything else on my agenda because I knew if I could reconnect with her, life would again feel grounded and I would rediscover peace.
Do you want to hear God’s voice so desperately that you are willing to “Be still”? Is experiencing the sweetness and calming of His presence worth making it the thing that is more important than anything else on your agenda this Monday morning?
There could be nothing more important and more productive for you today than that. It will change the outlook for your week and if you do this regularly, the trajectory of your life. My prayer is that you hear from Him today.
“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Ps.46:10
Live on purpose,
Ron Klopfenstein
