Mourning Into Dancing

Here is the verse I have decided to spray paint up on every wall in my house. (Okay, maybe not. But it just may come to that.)

“When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise (Prov. 10:19)”.

I called a friend this morning and began immediately downloading my life to her. “Well, then THIS happened…I couldn’t believe when…Geez, I just felt so…I don’t know what I’m going to do about…” We talked (well, I talked) for a while, then I asked her a little bit about her life and got off the phone so I could quickly move on to my next important task.

I am doing this with my husband as well. I have so much I am trying to get done that I talk AT him for a while, then move on to the next important thing. Huh.

The thing that really reveals my heart is that I know that if we met for the first time, you would have all my attention as I sought to show you what an amazing listener I am and how interested I am in your life.

I called my friend back. “How am I doing with listening to you lately?” I asked her.

“Oh…okay.” She said.

At this point I got out the spray paint and got to work. Or, rather, did the hard work of asking for her forgivness.

She was gracious - she told me that she had been thinking it was because I had been so excited about everything going on in my life. And maybe that is why, but that’s no excuse.

I don’t care what else needs to happen. If I’ve stopped being a good listener to the people who matter most in my life, then I had better fling everything off my calendar in order to find large amounts of space to have unhurried time to listen to the people who matter most.

Lord, help me to listen to You first in everything. Slow me down, God. Give me Your ears in every situation. If I’m talking, I can’t hear You. I want to hear You, Jesus!