A Conversation On The Front Step

My three-year-old granddaughter sat on the front step with her Mommy.
I knew that her little newborn sister was close by.
I pictured her baby sister in the carrier against her Mommy’s chest.
It was a pretty day and they were taking advantage of being outside.

Across the street, new houses are being built.
Apparently, this was wonderful entertainment for a three-year-old.
Her Mommy took a video and sent it to all of us.
My granddaughter was talking as she watched the construction.

She talked about how she was going to build a house when she got bigger.
When asked with whom she was going to build the house, she answered quickly.
She and her cousin were going to build it, when her cousin got bigger, too.
She and her older cousin are only one year apart in age and they are friends.

I watch them hold hands as they walk off to play.
I watch them play together so nicely, liking many of the same things.
Playing dress up and playing princesses seem to be their favorite thing to do.
This day, there was a dream of building a house together.

I smiled at the innocence of the conversation.
I smiled that she included her cousin in a very matter of fact way.
I giggled when I heard the statement that they have to get bigger first.
It was the last thing she said that hit my heart.

Sometimes when people are small, they don’t really talk.

She might have meant exactly what she said.
She might have meant something more.
Sometimes when people are small, and talk, others don’t really listen.
I wondered if that is what she meant.

Her mommy and daddy listen to her.
We all listen to her.
But do we?
Do we always hear the heart of the child talking to us?

Do we get distracted and think of all we have to do?
Do we already know what they are going to say, so we complete their sentence in our mind?
Do we rush them just a bit because we have other things that demand our attention?
Do we half listen?

I am guilty of this from time to time.
We all are.
I wrote down a quote that I heard Michael Card say many years ago.
He learned it from his mentor.

The best way to love someone is to listen to them.

How are we doing?
Does the person in front of us have our undivided attention?
Do we really listen to what they are saying and really hear their heart?
Are we thinking of what we are going to say instead of pondering what is being said?

Therefore, consider carefully how you listen. (Luke 8:18)

There should be nothing more important in that moment than listening.
Ouch!
How am I doing?
How are you doing?

Being heard is so important.
Being listened to, is the key to being understood.
The little ones, God has given us, can teach us a thing or two.
They matter.

When we listen to their little hearts, we hear their dreams.
When we stop everything and really hear them, it gives them a sense of importance.
When we listen well, they know that they matter to us.
It is such an encouragement for them to know they are valued.

But the laundry, the cleaning, and the meal preparation needs to be done.
Yes, it does.
I have learned that those sweet moments are fleeting.
They are gone as quick as they come.

Every mother, in the throes of dailiness, feels distracted.
There are days when she feels as if she got nothing accomplished.
There are days when her to-do list gets longer instead of shorter.
What if she sat back and reflected a bit?

Was her child/children heard today?
Did her child/ children listen to her?
Listening is learned but it is also modeled.
Another ouch!

Perhaps my granddaughter meant exactly what she said.
Sometimes when people are small, they don’t really talk.
May it never be that a small child does not talk because they know they are not heard.
May it never be.

The best way to love someone is to listen to them.

God the Father listens to us when we talk to Him.
He loves us very much.
He does not half listen.
He does not think of what He wants to say, since He said it all through His Son, in His Word .

Father, it is wonderful to be heard so completely by the One who never slumbers or sleeps.
Father, teach us listen more attentively.
Help us to listen to You so that we learn how to listen to each other.
Help us listen to Your Son, Jesus, the Word, and follow His example.