Listening.

Today is just one of those days that comes around every once in a while when all I want to do is read...and write. I think that reading is where I gain understanding of things, and then writing is the way that I express it and actually comprehend what I've learned. Not that I have learned it...it's more that God has taught it to me and I have chosen to listen. Listening. Mmm. I cannot describe the power of listening...everyone needs to just listen sometimes. I would actually say that everyone should have a day when they just listen...not that you have to be completely silent, because that is not the essence of true listening...but you would be amazed at the ways that the Lord will teach you things: through hearing parts of other peoples' conversations, through putting your will aside and committing to read the Bible for all it's worth, through just sitting to listen to the wisdom of a leader in your life, through just observing the sounds of nature and realizing how magnificent God is for creating everything, through listening to the words that people don't say.

Listening is a sign that you truly care for someone. I think that it is a practical way to share the love that God has given us...it involves restraint and self-control on the part of the listener, meaning that they do not try to interrupt or interject while the other person is talking. God never ceases to amaze me in this area (well, any area, really)...I've found that when I sincerely listen to someone, they begin to share more and more with me...more than I can ever handle, without the Lord. He will put people in your path who need to be encouraged and strengthened...something that none of us can really do unless we rely on God. Listening to what someone has on their heart involves simultaneously listening to what God wants you to say to encourage the downtrodden.

"Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry." --James 1:19