I turned off the stereo and noticed God...

Yesterday afternoon I again boarded my F150 gas-wagon, opened the windows and sunroof and departed for home. The day was beautiful: perfectly blue and cloudless sky, comfortably moderate temperature, and a soft, satin breeze...

I typically crank the stereo and blare my Christian and "un-Christian" rock for the world to hear as I weave a blazing trail between moms-in-SUVs and fellow Fort Rucker exiles towards my home in middle-of-nowhere Alabama. Marcia is more of a quiet music listener (especially in the car)...I have long maintained a headbanger's streak and glean that feeling of "cool" from the sensation of playing defiantly loud music: a carry-over from high school, I suppose. (I mean, come on, don't I laugh at those older guys who drive around with their elbows sticking out the window listening to 80's rock?)

Yesterday, however, I turned off the stereo. At first I merely tested it, hitting the stereo off button and pausing to see if I really thought silence was the atmosphere I preferred. I do love loud music...but after a brief anxious moment, I noticed the sound and the feeling of the wind, the sound of cars and trucks whirring around me, the sound of my tires carving the pavement...

All I can tell you is that I smiled for the rest of my 30 minute ride home. I drove slower than usual, not looking forward to ending what turned out to be a time of solitude and unspoken praise for the God that gave me the simple beauty of a drive home. (I believe I may have literally praised God for allowing me to have a sunroof.)

In reflection, I noticed an extreme deficit of silence in my life. I awaken to news (Marcia likes to watch it), drive 30 minutes to work ingulfed in loud music (and I sing like a champ), sit in an office full of voices (some much louder than the Lord intended, forcing me to put on headphones and play louder music), drive home in the same private concert, and finish the day in a house full of a combination of kids/dogs/TV/music.

Moral? Get a sunroof, slow down, and shut off the freakin' radio...?

Or is it: Since silence is golden and ignorance is bliss, shouldn't all the stupid people shut up and let the rest of us relax?