Unexpected Quiet

Quiet . . . stillness . . . hard to come by here. This is the first internet cafe I've been in that's been quiet-- I think really the first place I've been to here that is quiet and feels still. It's very simple-- a small room with computers on either side-- somehow, the noise from the street doesn't make its way in here much. Sigh. I've definitely been feeling the presence of people and noise to a degree I don't in LA. I just want to sit here and take this feeling in. No music playing, no cars honking, no dog barking, no parrot talking, no kids running around, no people talking, no tv on. And the woman who works here seems very sweet. Ah, silence. This morning, I went up to a church that we walked to yesterday-- found that it has a nice open space in front of it where you can see the hills above and the houses below-- so I went and sat there this morning to pray. I am very thankful to have found that spot. But it still was not as quiet and still as this place is. I've had so many thoughts running through my mind-- but somehow in this place I feel like even those thoughts have taken a rest. ¨Be still and know that I am God.¨I actually feel like I can be still here and just rest in God's presence-- what an unlikely place-- a random internet cafe in the middle of the city.