yell, scream, stamp their feet, even pound the desk. But then, when she brought her hand down, they were to be absolutely silent so that not even the sound of their breathing could be detected. You can imagine how delighted the children were with such an idea. Fortunately for the oth er classes nearby, she'd explained the experiment in advance so that they would know what to expect. There were only a few moments when her hand was up. But true to youthful anticipation, while she held it high, you should have heard the tremen dous noise which emanated from that grammar school classroom. Then quickly she brought down her arm. The boys and girls just as readily complied with absolute silence. After about 60 seconds of silence, which is really quite a long time when noth ing’s happening, she asked the pupils what they had heard during the quiet minute. They were amazed at what sounds had come to their ears. They shared ideas agreeing that many of the noises were frequently over looked. They had heard a dog bark ing in the distance, the wail of a siren passing by on the busy freeway, the noise of the other classes and people talking outside. There were the sounds of birds and other insects which make daytime noises. She was illustrating how people don’t stop long enough to hear what’s going on about them. There is a tremendous volume of sound which encircles us day by day in our homes, our cars, in every sphere of life. Spiritually speaking, these activities are so noisy that we fail to take time to listen to the voice of the Lord. This is a sad situation and commentary on the times. Notice the Psalmist •says, “Bless the Lord, 0 my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name.” All of us really have much for which to praise and give thanks to the Lord. As to that which should occupy our adoration, we can begin simply with
the name of the Lord. You know that there are more than 300 different titles which He has in Scripture. As an example, John quotes Him as the Light of the world. So, if there are some things about you which seem rather dark and foreboding, why not turn to Him for all your necessary light? If you are not sure of what pathway you should take, what deci sion you should make, again look to Him. A little girl was spending the sum mer with her aunt who was not mar ried and never had children. Conse quently the woman sometimes got out of patience with her young niece. As a matter of fact, she seemed to scold her rather regularly when she didn’t do the things the aunt expected she should. I’m afraid too often that we adults seek perfection in children when we ourselves are so far from attaining it in any sense whatsoever. In any case, the aunt on this occa sion, as the summer was drawing to a close, reminded the child that her mother was coming to pick her up. She cautioned, “I want you to be sure you have everything ready. Keep things nice and neat. And if you do, then maybe I’ll give you a special treat." The child was disappointed as she protested, “But, auntie, I’ve al ready been good all week. You said I could have the surprise anyway.” In stern tones, the adult reminded her, “A week ago I told you to clean up your room, and you didn’t do it. Don’t you remember it was two weeks ago that I told you to hang up your clothes and you just left them scat tered around your room? Then 10 or 11 days ago, I told you to eat all of your vegetables but you left most of them on your plate, going after the chocolate cake when I wasn't looking. Don’t you remember all of
Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned.
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