Editor's Column by Carolyn Stent I listened to news radio more than I listened to God.

Back to Table of Contents | Back to Main Index Previous Editor's Columns | Send mail to The Voice Daily silence necessary for reflection During spring break I rediscovered silence. I didn't listen to the radio or to music recordings. Instead, I enjoyed the quiet and reflected on life. I remember when one of my communication professors said that constant noise characterizes the U.S. culture. He said people surround themselves with sound--whether music, television, or radio, because silence forces them to think about their lives. I recently realized that I had allowed radio to play that role in my life. I listened to news radio more than I listened to God. This had not always been the case. I rarely listened to the radio for the first 18 years of my life. In Pakistan, where my parents served as missionaries, we could only get English radio stations on a short-wave radio. I did not need the daily news and knew that other people would tell me about important news events. Then I graduated from high school and left Pakistan. My classmates also returned to their home countries throughout the world. Suddenly international news became more important to me. And this last year I found news in an unexpected place: the radio. As a result of the attacks on New York on Sept. 11, 2001, I discovered the wealth of news and information provided by National Public Radio. While listening to NPR, I have heard reports about the people who make the news and those affected by the news. I have learned that second cousins share great-grandparents and that researchers are developing an experimental drug to treat stuttering. I have listened to experts talk about the Middle East and to bird watchers imitate birdcalls. Before Sept. 11, I didn't even know where to find NPR on the radio dial. Over the weeks that followed, however, I developed a habit of turning on the radio as I ate breakfast every morning and again as I ate supper every evening. Unconsciously, I thought that I was preparing myself for bad news by listening to radio news regularly. I discovered otherwise. One Sunday afternoon about three weeks ago, my sister called me. "Have you heard the news?" she asked. I have always hated those words. "No, tell me quick," I replied. She told me some men had burst into a church in Islamabad, Pakistan, and threw grenades at worshipers. This was the same church where several of our friends worship each Sunday. The people quoted in the news reports included family friends and one of my high school teachers. I struggled to concentrate on my daily responsibilities even as I received e-mails from the people involved in the tragedy. I realized that while I had been listening to the radio to prepare myself for bad news, I had wasted the opportunity God gave me to grow more dependent on Him each day. He knows everything and is present everywhere. NPR can't even come close to that. Moreover, God can actually do something about the news. Unlike listening to the radio, however, reading God's word and praying require my sole concentration. As a result, I decided to take steps to build times of quiet into my life. I started with my mornings. Each morning, instead of listening to NPR, I enjoy a quiet apartment as I prepare for the day. Instead of giving the news my first attention each day, I prefer to be more familiar with God's point of view. Then I briefly listen to the news in the evening. C.S. Lewis wrote: "The moment you wake up each morning, all your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists in shoving it all back; in listening to that other point of view, letting that larger, stronger quieter life come flowing in." Back to Table of Contents | Back to Main Index Previous Editor's Columns | Top Of Page Send mail to The Voice| Journalism department website © 2002 The Voice. No part of this publication may be reproduced in written or electronic form without prior written consent from the journalism adviser of Multnomah Bible College. All rights reserved.