Do You Hear What I Hear?

Uh huh. Yes. Oh really?

Perhaps one of the annoying habits and the hardest to break that people possess is not listening to what other people are saying.  Not just nodding politely, but is one actively listening with understanding in their eyes?

Guilty. I am so guilty of this. 

Over my lifetime, my mind has always been wandering, thinking about what I want to say in answer to their words. I want to tell my story! Let me interrupt you and tell my story. Their last sentence comes to a logical end, then I grab the reins before they reach the full stop.

Their eyes glaze over briefly before I hit my stride and then they relax. Oh, well, they think, politely smiling. Are they also mind-plumbing for their next reply?

It doesn't end with conversations. When our progeny were small, I would sit in church and the pastor would be preaching, sincerely presenting the Word of God. I fed my youngest progeny Cheerios and let the middle progeny play with his cars. The oldest one was quietly drawing.  

What was I doing? Hearing Pastor talk and nodding my head in agreement. What was I really doing?  

I was wondering if the crock pot chicken would be done. Would Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce) be on after I washed dishes? Did I move the wet clothes to the dryer?

Yes, inane random thoughts would invade my brain, while I nodded in response to God's message.

Perhaps the worst not-listening is when God is talking to me.

We have an on-going conversation throughout the day with me querying Him and then hearing His first three words, before I jump in. Yes, You are right.  Then my mind wonders off to laundry or dinner.

Let God Talk.  Then, wait. Don't cut Him off. He knows what you are going to say, but He wants you to hear Him. 

Let God Talk. He knows the answers to questions you are asking. He understands your fears, your worries. God is in charge.

Let God Talk. He has a plan for your life. Even though you groan and shout at Him, He is big enough to absorb your pain and your anger.

Don't interrupt God. Don't ignore God. Don't guess what He is going to say.


Be still and know that I am God. Psalms 46:10

Ask and it will be given to you;
seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened. Matt. 7:7

Let. God. Talk.

AND then LISTEN.

Paradise No Longer

More Information

Now named among the deadliest fires in California, Campfire, has destroyed the town of Paradise. A town of 27,000 lost 8,000 structures of which 7,700 were homes.

Forty-eight people are confirmed dead. An estimated 228 are missing.  Recovery teams and dogs are finding more, most of them in pieces and bone fragments.

California is dry with a strong Santa Ana winds and high temperatures. The fire is considered to be 30% contained.

YouTube

Donations may be made. American Red Cross is a good site for this.

Cardboard Town

cardboard alley

Cardboard Town
Where the bounced are trounced, 

The in-flamed are out-flamed.

Variety of rich to poor,
Poor to beyond poor.

Raspberry, Blackberry,

Gangrene black
Creep and seep.

Down and up,
up and down.

All in Cardboard Town.

www.housethehomeless.org

This is a re-post from June 2014, using underlined words as a writing prompt. The words were provided by Delores at Mumblings, who threw out some words and invited bloggers to use them. The "Wednesday Words" challenge is still happening! Go to either of these sites: Elephant's Child and River -  to see what words are being used this week.