And I admit, I am a bit nervous … I have never been on a silent retreat.

What will I really hear in all that silence? What does God really want to communicate with me? How will I be able to enter into the silence, when my life is so naturally non-silent?

I am hopeful and trusting in God’s love. In His plan. In His way of speaking to me.

As the mom of (almost) six children, I think, deep down, I need the silence to be able to truly listen to Him, even if we wants to speak with me about the not-so-pretty stuff, too …

Through the silence, may I learn to be more of the woman, the daughter, the wife, the mother He wants me to be. To not get stuck in my rut. But to grow in Him … and be able to give of myself more fully and with greater love.

Mother Teresa said, “We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature—trees, flowers, grass—grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence … We need silence to be able to touch souls.”