Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. They said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”
But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”
So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
Genesis 11:1-9
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| The girls in 2010 as Construction Workers. |
If only life were that simple. My life as a wife, mom, house keeper, lover, cook, speaker, chauffeur, organizer, runner, party planner, writer, technology guru... feels like a jumbled mess of competing priorities some days. Just as Carynne hears the whispers of her heart to a variety of interests, I long to fill my various roles with enthusiasm and excellence.
Life is complicated.
My desire to spend time with my husband wars with my need to live in a relatively straight house.
My longing to be physically intimate with him battles with my need to sleep.
My hope to pour laughter and life into my daughters' days takes up arms against my need for the quiet necessary to exercise my gift of writing.
Sometimes I feel like the calls of my heart speak a hundred different languages. It reminds of the Old Testament account of the Tower of Babel. What a surprise it must have been to Babel's occupants when suddenly they could no longer understand each other.
As I child I missed the importance of why God intervened in their linguistics. Without it, they had no need of Him.
If my days were all easy, organized and check list perfect, I would have no need of Him. My heart speaks different languages so I will seek the One who interprets every emotion and encounter.
In Babel, He may have scattered the people across the earth. But in my language confusion He gathers my heart to His. This moment I may be a writer. The next I might be counselor, comforter or cook. My life is complicated. My heart calls speak different languages but the Interpreter is always with me. My heart has no need for confusion.
What priority friction causes you the most angst? How could God interpret your priorities today and allow your heart to speak one language - love?
