Lemonade never related to people very well for me. Maybe it was the image of squeezing and crushing that gave me shivers. Not that peeling an onion is without its consequences. There’s the whole, "slow so you don’t bruise it" and tears in the process. Yet, that sounds human to me and very relatable to interacting with friends, family, and difficult personalities.
This last month has been all about listening. God’s charge to us all and His indispensable tool for true
relationship. For those of you who have been through our youth volunteer training, I’m sure you remember the emphasis that was put on just listening, active listening, and sharing only when asked.
It’s amazing what a kid or teen will share with you when they really feel heard and cared about by an adult.
Yet, for all I’ve learned and experienced with really listening, it’s one of those lessons in life that I keep having to relearn. With the resent loss to our family of my husband’s mother, my husband needs me to do little else but listen with uncritical love, without trying to “fix it.”
At work, we just went through a team building exercise in, you guessed it, listening! When God is doing great things, it’s amazing how hard the devil attempts to get a toe hold to create discord. As our building is filled to capacity with programs, and heading into the holidays, communication is key, with listening and understanding the bigger part.
With all my experience & training, it is my flesh that keeps getting in the way. Finding that I’m not listening but rehearsing what I might say next, or identifying so much that I take the conversation over and make it about my experience, or even playing “fix it” hearing them shape up the issue only to offer my best advise before they’ve finished. My flesh doesn’t seem to learn that only by listening does real understanding take place. And my heart longs to feel understood, doesn’t yours?
Praise God that He is not quick to judge my failings and throw me away for the hurt I cause. Instead, with grace and patience, He loves me as I get up, dust myself off, apologize and try again. This time seeking the Holy Spirit to guide and direct me, giving me a patience and joy in listening.
I pray this grace for you and your family, too, as we head into the holiday season. The Greek word for Spirit translates, “Breath of God.” So remember to breathe and look for God in the relationships around you. Know that Jesus is in control and seeking to bless us. I will keep the prayer bucket full, so feel free to dip from it as you need.
