The Spring Peepers on County Road 12

In late March, along County Road 12 outside Ithaca, New York, ten-year-old Maya Chen pressed her face against the car window and frowned. Her father had pulled onto the shoulder near a marshy stretch of farmland, killed the engine, and said, "Listen."

She heard nothing. Just wind. Maybe a distant truck on Route 96.

"I don't hear anything, Dad."

"Keep listening."

A minute passed. Then, faintly, a high silvery chorus rose from the reeds — hundreds of spring peeper frogs, each no bigger than a thumbnail, singing into the cold darkness. Once Maya heard them, she couldn't unhear them. The sound was everywhere.

"They've been singing this whole time?" she asked.

"Since before we stopped," her father said.

This is Samuel's story in 1 Samuel 3. The voice of the Lord was speaking clearly, but the boy didn't recognize it. Three times God called. Three times Samuel ran to old Eli, certain the priest had summoned him. It took Eli's hard-won wisdom to say, "That voice isn't mine. It's God. Next time, answer Him."

Sometimes the voice of the Almighty has been speaking into our lives longer than we realize. We mistake it for restlessness or coincidence. We need an Eli — a mentor, a pastor, a wise friend — to help us recognize what has been calling all along. And when we finally hear it, we wonder how we ever missed it.

"Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening."