Oh My!

Chaos erupted in the background. I could hear the dog barking and the boys screaming even over the phone. My sister paused for a brief moment; said, “oh my,” and came right back to the conversation. I was amazed at how easily she was able to stay focused on our call. I, however, was somewhat distracted by the events happening around her. Since she has two boys ages 12 and 5 she seems to be able to roll with the punches and not get too overwhelmed by the exuberance and excitement.


Tonight in church we were surrounded by families with young children. The two boys on the end of our pew were noisy and active. The three children in front of us were in constant motion. Somewhere behind us was a child who cried throughout most of the service. The moms seemed adept at dealing with the children while still focusing on the service. My 13 year old niece leaned over and said, “I am not hearing much of the service with all the noise and activity.” I had to agree with her.

As Christians we are faced with similar circumstances. The noise and activity of the world is a constant. It seems there is no quiet anymore with 24 hour TV and radio. We are constantly bombarded by the chaos that this world offers.

Sometimes it is hard to filter out the cacophony and listen for what is important. We find ourselves distracted and focusing on whatever is the loudest. God doesn’t often yell louder than the world. He is a still, small voice in the chaos, but He is there waiting for us to come back to the conversation.

What we need to do is learn how to say, “Oh my” and get back to the conversation. We need to learn to filter out the boisterous world.