Listening to the Voices
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My husband and I tackled three stacks of laundry together while the boys got ready for bed. We talked about the next day’s plans as we folded and made comments about all that needed doing around the house before calling it a day.
Just as David finished a sentence, I heard a sound like a child’s chuckle come from the direction of the dryer. My heart caught in my throat as I whipped around and stared.
“You heard it, too?” my husband asked
“Yeah, it sounded like the noise came from the dryer.”
“Well, good. I thought I was losing my mind over here. But I think it came from over in the other corner.”
We slowly canvased the laundry room with our eyes and ears, our hearts both racing.
“CHRISTY!” I heard the voice yell.
Oh my gosh, I thought. It knows my name.
“CHRISTY. I’M ON YOUR PHONE!”
Talk about relief. I grabbed my phone out of my back pocket and my friend was laughing on the other end.
“Oh my gosh! I must have butt-dialed you, but I’m sure glad you’re on the other end. We thought there was some kind of freaky something in here and we were both about to give it the laundry room.”
We all got a good laugh about the voices and once my heart slowed down to normal, I was able to think deeper about the whole situation. Instead of audible voices, oftentimes we listen to other voices that we secretly allow to dictate the direction of our thoughts and emotions. The voice of doubt. Shame. Insecurity. Fear. Guilt. Obligation. Rejection. Depression. Anxiety. Failure. Addiction. Worry. Laziness. Past mistakes.
These voices get so loud in our heads at times that we stand paralyzed. The lies we concoct and believe surrounding these emotions often leave us confused, beaten down, and stuck.
That’s when we need to look around the room and figure out where the voices are coming from. Is this a voice I’ve been listening to since childhood? Is it new? Is it actually true? Or has my mind taken all my angst and wrapped it up in a paralyzing line I’ve come to believe?
Dig deep and ask all the whys. Just because we’ve always believed the voices doesn’t mean they’re actually true. Our personal truths are not always God’s truth, and many times our identity gets wrapped up in these lies that the many voices have told us over the years.
When the voices seemingly come out of nowhere this week and you find yourself paralyzed in the laundry room looking for the freaky, taunting voice, make the conscious effort to find where the voice is coming from. And then, lock your phone and protect yourself from any accidental butt-dials in the future. You don’t have to listen to that voice anymore!
Dig in: What voices have you been entertaining way too long and too often?
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