Learning to Listen

Before our eldest son Noah was born we felt like the Lord told us that he was going to be a leader.  He certainly has two traits of a leader which are: 1) a vision of how things should be; 2) and the willingness to tell people about it.  To put it plainly, he never shuts up.  My standing joke is that he even talks in his sleep, and it's funny because it is true!

Don't get me wrong, in certain ways I love this about him!  I would much rather he be a talker who has "never met a stranger" than a wall flower afraid to say a word.  However, I have noticed something about Noah that will be a struggle if he doesn't grow, and that is his inability to listen.

He is physically able to hear, but his mind is so geared toward talking that he doesn't process the words that are being spoken to him.  This is important because listening is a key to success in every relationship.

• Don't listen to people and they think you don't care about them.
• Don't listen to advisers and you make mistakes.
• Don't listen to supervisors and you get fired or passed over.
• Don't listen to subordinates and they find other jobs.
• Don't listen to God and you'll take every wrong turn.

"Holy Spirit quite my heart so that I can be a better listener.  Show me what I have been missing. Amen"