Are YOU listening?

“Listening is a magnetic and strange thing, a creative force. The friends who listen to us are the ones we move toward. When we are listened to, it creates us, makes us unfold and expand.”
~unknown~

As a home school mom, I talk….. a lot. I can often be heard asking in one form or another, “are you listening?” or “did you hear me?”

“Be quick to listen and slow to speak.” James 1:19

I spent some time recently on a bike ride with my youngest child. There were no siblings to distract us, no household chores beckoning me, he rode and I walked and I had a chance not just to “hear” him, but really “LISTEN”.

As home schoolers, we are with our children 7 days a week, we HEAR them all day long. We hear the joy when the “light bulb” goes off and a concept is mastered, we hear the disappointment when the “light bulb” doesn’t go off” and frustration sets in. We hear the chatter among siblings, (the good, the bad and the ugly). They hear us too. They hear the tone that we use when the day is flowing along wonderfully, and they hear the tone when the train wrecks!

As that afternoon with Hayden unfolded, I was reminded by a gentle nudge from God to not only hear, but L~I~S~T~E~N. We can easily fall into the trap that just because we hear, we listen and I speak from experience, that is not always so.

I HEAR my children ask me “can I have a piece of candy?” while I’m working on the computer, but I’m not really listening. They know it, that’s why they ask! They often ask me to sit with them alone in my room to read or work on a writing assignment, and I sense it’s because they know they have my complete attention….they know I will listen to what they have to say.

We HEAR all day long, but are we listening?

Listening to the voice of God is where we need to begin. I know that on that bike ride, I heard God in the voice of my child, reminding me that these days are fleeting and the relationships that we build today will last us a lifetime.

It’s a noisy world, and we won’t be able to LISTEN to those in our lives who need to be heard if we are not in a place of peace. We must learn to tune out those noises that try and invade our spirits and distract us. The source of peace, turning first to God and finding the time to LISTEN to Him will help us hear others, and it is when we truly HEAR the people in our lives, that we can respond like Christ.

Most of us live to some degree as Modern Day Martha’s. Moving from one thing to the next, and yet we often ignore what we are told in Luke,

“And she had a sister named Mary, who seated herself at the Lord’s feet and was listening to His teaching.” Luke 10:39

It’s not just hearing that we are called to do as disciples, as moms and wives….

We are challenged to listen, really listen…As the quote above suggests it is in listening, truly listening to the Word of God and then to those in our lives, we are helping them unfold and expand. Without listening to the Word of God, we find ourselves at a standstill, it is only in listening that God can move through us and create and expand who HE is in us.

It’s a very NOISY world out there….a lot of things to hear, and only a FEW worth really listening to.

As We Raise Our Hands

Father,
I come to you seeking stillness in a very noisy world. My days are filled with chatter, distractions and joyful noise. I ask Father that you guide me to not simply “hear” but to “listen.” Help me to find YOUR VOICE amidst the noise. Help me to hear you guide me through my days. Help me Father, to hear those that you have blessed me to serve, listen and respond to their needs in the way your son Jesus would. I want to be still and hear you.

I want to listen to my children and my husband, hear their hearts speak to me, hear them as you do. I can not do this alone. It is only with your help that I can be what you created me to be.

Father, help me not only to hear, I humbly ask you to help me to listen with the ears of Christ.
~amen~

Lori is a 4 year homeschool mom to 3. Currently a 7th grader, a 5th grader and a 3rd grader. Lori insists that when she was wrestling with the decision to home school, a gentle voice guided her with the words, “you know what you should do.” Never looking back, accepting the challenges and rewards and CONSTANTLY clinging to THE ROCK…”No Storm can shake my inmost calm when to this ROCK I’m clinging.” “Raise Your Hands” is an inspirational column while, as the Beatles so eloquently put it, we walk “this long and winding road,” together. Hoping to impart peace and inspiration amidst the daily chaos. Be sure to visit her blog at All You Have to Give.