Listening

I have just finished sewing a new batch of liluga’s.  They are sitting quietly in a basket in my sewing room, awaiting their new homes.  I need to pray to God about who I should give them to.  After I pray, I need to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit and be able to hear who He puts on my heart.  Listening isn’t always easy. 

I have been reading several different books on writing, and in one of them the author suggests a writing exercise on listening.  She recommends sitting with a paper and pen, and for ten minutes or so, write what you hear.  Here is what I wrote:

“As I sit here on this cold, winter evening, I have the Super Bowl and all it’s crazy commercials going on in the background.

I hear the heat blowing into the room.  I like that sound because it means warmth.  No blowing noise, no heat.  The sound is almost as loud as the T.V.  Ismael (my husband) has the volume low.  I can hear the roar of the crowd at the stadium.  The announcers voices are smooth and calm, unlike the soccer announcers on the Spanish stations.

The heat just shut off.  I heard Ismael swallow.  He is rubbing his finger over my leg, against the corduroy of my pants, making a swishing sound.

I can hear my step-son, Sebastion, going from his room to the bathroom, opening and shutting the doors.  The clock across the room it ticking.  Most of the time I don’t hear it.  Today I do.  Today I am listening.

Ismael just smirked at a commercial.  The air is getting cooler, but it is quieter.  Most of the time, I don’t listen.  My inner thoughts are louder than the outside noises.”

I did this exercise a couple of weeks ago, and as I reread it, the last sentence really jumps out at me.  I have a ton of inner thoughts going on at all times in my head, thoughts that block out a lot of outside noises.  Some of those outside noises are good and need to be heard.  Like hearing from God.  I need to shut off my inner voice and just listen.  I am going to do this exercise again, but this time I will listen to what God is saying.

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”  John 10:27