Listen

A loon’s eerie call on a cooling evening just at sunset. The raspy voice of a tree frog croaking to find a mate. The screech of a red winged blackbird. The warble of an Oriole. Nature speaks to me through the voices of creatures familiar to me. I listen to them and try to hear the Creator’s voice which gently and quietly urges me to seek Him.

How often do you find yourself hearing but not really listening.  I am quite guilty of this all the time.  Sometimes when someone is talking to me I try hard  to listen, but my mind is on a different adventure and tries to pirate me along with it.  Other times my mind is moving ahead of the speaker and I try to put words in their mouth.  Maybe those things I would like them to say, or just because I have tuned out of the real meaning of their words.  Mostly, it is because I have refused to give my time and my attention to the one who is speaking.  The selfishness takes over.

One of my favorite Native American sayings is “listen or your tongue will make you deaf”.  Mine has made me hard of hearing many times.  When I have a thought or an idea, I don’t even have to be speaking for me to be deaf to others views and opinions. 

What does it really mean to listen?  To be generous and give your time and attention to another human being without being judgmental or self serving.  At times this is so difficult.  Our culture doesn’t lend itself to truly listening to one another.  The TV or radio blares in the background, cell phones ring or silently buzz and people are so hurried and easily distracted.  Sometimes it seems the whole world is becoming ADD.  It is a special and sacred time when two people are able to sit and openly and honestly share themselves with each other without regards to time or the world around them.

How about the time you spend with God?  I so often take charge of the conversations with Him.  After all, He has such a soft voice, that I usually  don’t hear Him.  I am the one doing the talking, repenting, asking or pleading.  He is always silently listening.  Waiting for me to finish my rantings and then in a very quiet voice says “Be still, and know that I am God”.  This causes me to stop; take a few deep cleansing breathes, and finally agree with Him.

Take the time to listen.  Listen to one another.  Listen to the quiet voice of your Creator.  He has plenty to say when we finally find the time to listen!