31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes Challenge ~ Listen

The word prompt for day four of the 31-Days of Five-Minute Free Writes and Kate's regular link-up, Five-Minute-Friday is...Listen. 

Two for one!

"GO..."

I loved this photo from the first moment I took it. A little boy at the races, looking up in awe, unable to hear the noises of the cars on the track. Sometimes, I just click pictures for no reason at all. That was the case of this one. How would I have known that seven years later, it would pop up while looking for a photo to put together with this week's word prompt?

While at the races, almost everyone wears some kind of ear protection. It's meant to deafen the decimals of the loud cars or block out other loud noises. They don't drown it out completely, but enough.

Sometimes, I feel like I need to be wearing a headset, helping to block out all the noises around me so I can focus solely on what God is trying to say to me. Try as I might, I really do want to hear the words from the Bible study tapes. I read and read again the words guiding me through the pages of the study, but am I truly listening to those words?

Why is it so difficult to hear and not really listen?

Am I just hearing what I want to hear, all the while waiting for the right time to answer or add my two cents?

There is a BIG difference...

"STOP!"

...between hearing and listening.

Hearing is basically a physiological act, while listening involves our ability to figure out the meaning of the words and the silence between them. (Psychology Today) 

Dutch writer and professor Henri Nouwen once wrote:

"Listening is much more than allowing another to talk while waiting for a chance to respond...The beauty of listening is that, those who are listened to start feeling accepted, start taking their words more seriously and discovering their own true selves. Listening is a form of spiritual hospitality by which you invite strangers to become friends."

As I have journeyed through this life, there were many times I just heard what was said and really wasn't listening. When I began Bible study, way back when, I wasn't really listening, I was hearing what I needed to answer whatever question was being asked so I could respond with what hopefully would be the correct answer.

I have been working on this listening skill more lately, allowing other's stories to be heard while I listen!