Everyday I am reminded of being "only human". I roll out of bed hoping that this day will be different. That I will remember to be in constant communication with my Heavenly Father, that I will love with an unconditional love to those around me, that I will be patient with the little people in my household, that I will listen when I need to listen & speak when I need to speak...
God has really been reaching deep into my soul about that last one. Yes, the others are challenging in themselves but lately it has been about listening & not speaking. I have been studying the book of Proverbs. It is amazing how many verses talk about being slow to speak. Now, I do have my moments of getting into "gossip" but that is not what I am writing about. I mean, listening...Listening to my husband, to my beautiful girls, to my neighbors, to my friends...most people when you ask them about me would probably agree that I am a great listener...okay I agree somewhat...but do I really? I listen but I don't really Listen. I don't listen to what they are REALLy saying, I listen to what I think they are saying & then I make remarks to encourage. But sometimes I need to JUST listen. For some reason I feel that I need to be the "helper" the "healer" the one that makes everyone feel better. That is okay but I think most people would say they just want someone to really "hear" them & understand where they are coming from. Not to "solve" it but to just LISTEN. David will tell you that I do this ALL the time to him. The other day we were driving & we saw people playing tennis..so he says," I loved playing tennis in high school, I used to play so often"
Okay, here comes Angie to the rescue!!!!HE obviously desires to play again, and since he is so busy with our family & work he must feel that he cant'do those types of things again-right?
Boy was I wrong...he simply wanted to talk about how fun it was once in his life...so I open up my encouraging yet alot of times irritating Italian mouth and say"You should start playing again, find a place where you can play, I'll make some calls for you"
He didnt even want to talk about tennis anymore, I gave him a solution when he just wanted to talk...what I could have said was,"tell me what you enjoyed about it"then he would have shared his heart..now, this is a simple story about nothing but the point is I need to listen...to find out what the other person is really looking for, to give them a listener ear not a solution to everything.
Proverbs 15:23 " A man finds joy in giving an apt reply-and how good is a timely word!"
Vs.2 " The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly."
Proverbs 10:8" The wise in heart accept commands, but a chattering fool comes to ruin."
I don't want to be a chattering fool, fixing everyones problems when they don't want them fixed, I want to be a friend who listens. A friend to my husband who just wants to share his thoughts, a friend to my friends who just want me to "feel" what they are feeling. As I was running this morning it dawned on me who else this affects...my daughters, I feel that God is allowing me to see this little problem in my life so that I can prepare for my daughters. They are really going to need me the most as they grow older. They are going to want me to sit on the edge of their bed to listen to them talk about their periods, their friend issues, and why it hurts when a boy breaks their hearts...I need to learn to listen with my heart now, so that I can be there for them then...
Lord, thank you for giving me a new chance every morning. Help me everday to listen more & speak less.
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