But I learned something through prayer that I don't think I could have learned any other way. Silence is not a void. It is a presence. The most honest kind 🙏

When I sit in church before the service starts, when the candles are lit and no one is speaking yet — that stillness is not nothing. It's everything. It's the moment before you remember who you actually are underneath all the rushing and performing and pretending.

I think many people are afraid that if they get quiet enough, they'll hear something they don't want to hear. A truth they've been avoiding. A question they haven't answered. But I believe that's exactly why the silence is necessary. Not to punish us. To free us.

God does not shout. He whispers. And you cannot hear a whisper if you never stop talking 🕊️

When was the last time you sat in real, complete silence — not waiting for something, just being present?

Maria