Ears to Hear

"Take heed and listen"

Deuteronomy 27:9

I've got a friend who is walking through a trial.

Actually, I have several friends walking difficult paths. 

One friend has cancer,

     another is getting a divorce,
 
          another whose husband has cancer,

               another with money worries,

          another with career worries,

Medical, financial, marital, animal, vegetable, mineral.... reasons to pray are everywhere I look.  Or rather, everywhere I listen. 

Because really, for the most part, all I can do is listen. 

     And pray, of course.  That's crucial.

          But so is the listening.

I realized a long time ago, (or else I read it somewhere and so internalized it that I've come to believe it was my own inspiration) that listening ~ not talking ~ is one of the greatest gifts you can give to someone who's hurting.  There's a time for counsel and advice, but there are also times when the best thing you can say is, "I know..." or "I'm sorry..." or "I love you."

Sometimes I wish I could do more. 

     Sometimes I even wish it were me, instead. 

     Especially if it's my kids.

But there is so much to learn from hard things, and no one can learn for someone else.  As Glinda the Good Witch said about Dorothy, "she had to learn it for herself."

So I'll walk alongside my friends the best that I can.  I'll pray, and I'll praise Him, knowing that He is working in them, for their growth and His glory. 

And of course, I will listen.

~ "through love, 

serve one another" ~

Galatians 5:13

~