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Modified Transcript:
Hi, it’s Kimberly from Well Christian Woman,
Thank you for taking the time to listen to this video today. I’ve been feeling challenged the last while about listening and I wanted to share some of my thoughts with you as well.
I think we’ve all been part of a conversation where we were not really part of the conversation. When we’re talking but the person across from us is completely not listening. They’re looking around, they’re doing something else, they’re fiddling, you can see the wheels turning in their head as they’re either thinking about something else or they’re tensed up just waiting to jump in with their thought or opinion about whatever you’re talking about.
That can be frustrating and I’ve been really challenged by a couple of people in my life lately who really have strong opinions about the things we’ve been talking about. In any conversation I have with them, it’s kind of a one-way conversation. This has got me thinking. Instead of feeling frustrated about it, maybe I should think about how may times that I’ve been the person who’s been looking around or thinking more about my agenda than whatever it is that the person across from me is sharing with me.
I have probably missed opportunities so many times to learn and be challenged and think about things in a different way or to just be a good listener for the person that’s sitting across from me who needs someone to just hear what they’re saying.
Sometimes what someone is talking about we perceive as unimportant, but it may not be unimportant to them. Sometimes it’s very clearly important but we’re too wrapped up in our thoughts or feelings about it to really bless that person by listening to them and being an active listener to their heart.
James talks about this in James 1:19. He says:
Take note of this. Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.
This is so true, and each point follows from the other. If we were much quicker to listen and slower to speak, we would hear things that we don’t hear and we would learn things that we don’t learn. We’d be less easily offended or angered by things if we took a little more time.
I’ve been thinking a lot about this and I think it’s a great gift to feel listened to. I think it’s an even greater gift to listen and I just don’t want to miss out on the opportunities to listen and to bless someone around me by listening.
I’ve also been thinking about how we approach God. I think we often do the same thing. We maybe come at Him with such a big list of demands and we really fail to listen and to learn and be challenged and even to accept what He has for us. I don’t want any of us to miss out on that.
I’m going to really make an effort to take this into my week and future and try to concentrate on being a more active listener and more slow to speak. I feel challenged and motivated in this. I hope you can too, and I hope you have a great day!
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