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Listening To Each Other (from Delve Christian Ministries Inc.)
For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." But
if instead of showing love among yourselves you are always biting and devouring one another,
watch out! Beware of destroying one another." Galatians 5:13-14
I overheard a conversation a few days ago at lunch which began when a woman noticed one of
her co-workers looking downcast. She sat beside him at the lunch table and asked him if he
wanted to discuss what was bothering him. He began to talk about the recent trouble he was
having relating to his daughter, and it was obvious from his tone and his expression that this was a
serious matter which was weighing heavily on him. He had barely begun to explain the essence of
the problem when the young woman interrupted, exclaiming, "I know exactly what you mean! My
daughter..." And just like that, the conversation shifted as she went on for several minutes
describing her own situation. When she finally paused to take a bite of her meal, the man got up
and walked away dejectedly. Without missing a beat, she turned to the next person at the table
and continued talking about her daughter. I had a pretty strong reaction at the time. I remember
thinking, "You don't care about his situation! You just wanted an excuse to start talking!"
It's easy to be critical of this woman, but realistically, this kind of thing goes on all the time. I have
done it to my wife and she has done it to me. I have seen pastors do it on many occasions. Few of
us are immune. We are rarely listening; usually, we are just waiting impatiently for our turn to talk.
We nod and agree in all the right places, but really we are pondering the next thing we are about
to say
It's a shame that so many of us are guilty of this offense, and it speaks volumes about how most
people really feel about themselves and those around them. If you struggle with this as much as I
do, then it ought to be very humbling when you realize just how difficult and rare it is to have a
conversation with someone during which you are far more interested in what they are saying than
what you are about to say. It's hard to clear our mind, offer our undivided attention and just listen.
If we dig deeper, we will discover that our egocentric conversations are just one of many ways in
which we fail to demonstrate love for each other. I could just as easily point to any of a long list of
ways we fail to keep this commandment. I chose this one because it is so subtle and pervasive
that for the most part, we've simply stopped noticing that we've stopped listening. I'm sure if you
were to ask the woman at the lunch table, she wouldn't have any idea that she had done anything
wrong.
The next time you're speaking to someone, especially if they are hurting, make an effort to erase
any thoughts of yourself. Instead, give them one hundred percent of your attention. Make a
commitment to ensuring that they are able to get their point across, and don't worry about yours. It
seems like such a small thing, but it will make a huge difference in not only how you perceive
people, but how they perceive you.
You see, loving your neighbor is not like loving your spouse. It's may not be something you feel,
but it is something that you do. It's the act of sacrificing your own needs and desires for the sake
of someone else.
You can demonstrate that love in such a meaningful way by just listening.
Tomorrow is our 6th Anniversary
Saturday, Asher turned two. We had a little birthday party with him and couple friends. We went to Chuck E Cheese? I really didn't think he would like it as much as he did. He didn't even care to eat my gluten free/ dairy free birthday cake I made him with confetti frosting (yum!), because he wanted to go put a coin in the big yellow school bus or ride the pony. He loved it! Mom and Dad bought him a basketball hoop, again I thought he would not enjoy this until he got older, but lo and behold, he loved that too! I guess he's not my baby anymore, he really is my big boy!
Yesterday I went to the hospital to see my friends new born baby, this girl came out at 10lbs. I thought she would be huge but I thought she was as tiny as could be, I think it's because my "baby" is so big now! Can you believe he started out at 7.3lbs? He is becoming such a little man. It used to be that I was the one that worried about him and was always making sure he was okay. Now he's always taking care of me. If I give him a hat to go outside, he pulls out another one of his hats "and mama" he says. If I put chapstick on his lips, "and mama" he says. When we're heading out the door or walking down the street, he always turns and round and says "mama, cmon". When I'm putting on face lotion, he has to sit in my lap and have some applied to his face. Actually he wants a little more applied to his face then just my lotion, he is fascinated by all of my make-up. I have to tell him "Well, Daddy doesn't wear this stuff, so you don't need to either." 
I can't wait to post our Hawaii pics, but for now, here's a little something to wet your appetite! Hawaii is the most beautiful place on the planet!
The weather lately has been crazy. Just Wednesday, it was around 60 degrees, beautiful, sunny, got me all excited for spring!
