Someone said the other evening at a church meeting that God gave us two ears that were always open and one mouth that we could shut. I had never “heard” it put that way before, so I wanted to share that description.

Meditation involves listening to God. As part of God’s family, it’s important that we listen to others too. Sometimes we are called just to show up and be present.

Paul Reiter shared the following with me. Paul is the Executive Presbyter of the Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy and will be joining us during our Build Spiritual Muscle series in the month of June. It was too good to keep to myself, so I wanted to share it with you.

Listen
When I ask you to listen to me,
And you start giving me advice,
You have not done what I asked.

When I ask that you listen to me,
And you begin to tell me what I shouldn’t feel that way,
You are trampling on my feelings,

When I ask you to listen to me,
And you feel you have to do something to solve my problems,
You have failed me, strange as it may seem.

Listen:
All that I ask is that you listen,
Not talk or do – just hear me.

When you do something for me
That I need to do for myself,
You contribute to my fear and feelings of inadequacy.

But when you accept as a simple fact
That I do feel what I feel, no matter how irrational,
Then I can quit trying to convince you
And go about the business
Of understanding what’s behind my feelings.

So, please listen and just hear me.
And, if you want to talk,
Wait a minute for your turn –
And I’ll listen to you.

– Anonymous

May we all be better listeners.

I’ve received this beautiful reminder and have passed it onto you. Please pass this onto others too.
If you need to do a little more listening to God, my meditation CD, “Be Still and Know that I am God,” can help quiet your mind and clear out your cluttered thoughts.
Peace,