Just a few days ago I joined the Five Minute Friday community and wrote about the word “Break”. You can read that post here.
In the process, I am learning that five minutes is not enough to explore the word “break” and God’s ideas for what this should look like for me. There continues to be this sense of digging deeper and understanding that taking a break and waiting for next steps is not really about me, but all about Him.
A question surfaces in my mind and over and over it begs to be answered – Are you listening? I will admit that I know I did not hear this question the first time and probably not the second or third either. My mind works overtime even during a time of rest to the point that taking a break looks good on the outside, but there is so much work for me to do on the inside. That description right there should be my wake up call to learn how to rest better.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary describes listen as:
2: to hear something with thoughtful attention : give consideration <listen to a plea>
3: to be alert to catch an expected sound <listen for his step>
I am especially drawn to the 2nd definition~to hear something with thoughtful attention. The key words here are “thoughtful attention”.
[Tweet “Listening is an intentional act of being present for each moment.”]
Listening is an intentional act of being present for each moment. It is a leaning into the person speaking and an awareness with all your senses. It is an act of love and caring that what the other person is saying is valuable and has merit.
If listening is a whole body experience, do we do the same when we are quiet and still for God? Is our mind completely focused in that moment that we are reading His Word, listening to worship music or reading a devotion? Do we give God the same attention that we give other things in our lives?
I ask these questions to help myself as much as others. To be fully present in each moment is not easy to do in our world of distractions. What I learned though is sometimes moments of presence are quick, almost fleeting, that you must keep your eyes open for so they don’t pass you by.
My unexpected “break” moments that caused me to breathe in deeply last week were:
~ a student’s wink and smile from across the room
~ day break glowing with the slow motion brightening of the sky
~ a student running up to me and wrapping me in an unexpected bear hug
~ a phone call from my firstborn son just to catch up
~ coffee and conversation with a good friend to end the week and begin Spring Break
Each gift allowed me to break from normal and thank God for the chance to breathe Him in and give thanks. I am still a work in progress and listening will be an area I will always need work on, but God says lean in, let go and let me!
I am praying for all this week that as we make our way to the cross, we listen to the footsteps of Jesus walking along side us in His final walk to the sacrifice of His life for our redemption.
Blessings,
Mary
Blessed to be linking with:
#DanceWithJesus @ susanbmead.com
If listening is a whole body experience, do we do the same when we are quiet and still for God? Is our mind completely focused in that moment that we are reading His Word, listening to worship music or reading a devotion? Do we give God the same attention that we give other things in our lives?
God says lean in, let go and let me!
OH YES!!!
How beautiful your words are…now may I listen closely to God.
May we all listen closely and intently. God will be honored when our time is focused on Him and His word. May you and your family Susan have a blessed Easter. Thank you for being part of this beautiful blogging community.
How fast I usually seem to be going! I feel the weight of that speed when I have to ask my children to repeat themselves because I was distracted the first time. Pausing, listening, they’re skills that need constant attention. Thank you for slowing me down a bit this morning!
I wrote these words for me as much as for others. I am guilty of only half listening often and I am not proud of it. I have been on Spring Break this past week and God has shown me how to listen better as I have interacted with those in my life this week. Thank you for being here and have a Happy Easter!
I’m so appreciative of this reminder to not just hear but really listen. This life is really noisy so I find I have to be ever so intentional when I’m trying to hear God’s voice. I’m guilty of reading my daily devotions sometimes in a hurry because I have so much on my mind. I just can’t focus but He deserves my full attention. I’m working on it. Thanks again for the reminder.
I understand reading God’s word on the fly! Somedays I am looking to check it off my to do list and no one benefits when I do this-myself or God who deserves my full attention. I appreciate your honesty and willingness to join the conversation. Easter blessings to you!
I love that you are leaning in and listening to what God wants to say to you as you come nearer and nearer to a “break” from the life you’ve known for so many years, Mary. I also think God is in the details and if we do not stop long enough to soak up those beautiful moments like you mentioned, we will miss God’s embrace. I’m excited for what your next chapter will look like and am grateful to hear your heart each week here in this space, my friend!
I love that I will be getting a longer “break” here in a few months, but right now I need to be intentional in choosing to seek out the little gifts that God blesses me with each day. I feel pulled in many directions and I want to become more focused. I love your sweet words and friendship that you so lovingly share here at my blog each week. I am truly blessed to call you friend! I am praying that my future involves a real life meet up with you! Have a blessed Easter.
We all need those breaks. Glad you have yours and enjoyed it. 🙂
Thanks Lux! God is good and when He blesses us with little reminders throughout the day we are given such a gift of love. Have a blessed Easter!
My mind spins constantly, working overtime as you so perfectly described it, my friend. I melted to see “a student’s wink” in your break list. How precious is that! I really need to stop and savor those type of moments instead of always just jumping into the next.
Thank you so much for all of the “break moments” you blessed me with yesterday, Mary. It was wonderful to spend time with you and just chat all day. Let’s do it again soon!
It’s so easy to jump from one thing to the next instead of slowing down to catch all God has for us to see. When God catches me and gets me to slow down, it is always a beautiful moment.
I loved our break moment together and would absolutely treasure more in the future. God blessed that meeting for sure! Have a blessed Easter friend!
This is so good, Mary. I usually don’t connect listening with the word “break,” but it’s true that listening requires us to take a break from life, from what we’re doing at the moment. And if we give ourselves fully to it, to being present to God or our loved ones, we will come away refreshed! (I’ve spent time doing counselling, in which listening is NOT like a break, but that’s another story…. 🙂 )
Thank you for joining in the conversation today. I know if I truly am listening that it requires me to put down, lean in and be present which is a break from the normal. I am glad you are here and sounds like you will need to be doing some sharing in the future about your listening at counseling! 🙂 Have a blessed Easter!
Mary, Great thoughts on listening and I like how you tied in the word break with this…you’re encouraging me to take more breaks from the routine of my day in order to listen to the Lord and be present with my kids. Thanks for bringing your encouragement to the #RaRaLinkup party!
Thank you Angela! I appreciate you and your hosting of the #RaRalinkup this week. I pray we all find those break moments in our day and treasure them as love gifts from God. Have a blessed Easter!
It’s that listening to others I realize I need to be more intentional with. My problem is surely all the distractions. So one thing I try to do is allow for more one-on-one time with those closest to me to allow me to better attuned to what’s on their heart. When I’m with a group of people . . . oh how much harder it can be. Seeing God in those every day moments, the more intentional we are with this, I find it slowly becomes more natural. And such a blessing!!!! Always appreciate the wisdom you share, friend. xoxo
Too much social media causes too many distractions and I get sucked in way too easily. I am seeking many break moments throughout my day and God is always willing to supply them. I love how you look for those one on one times that you can be intentional with those you love. I was blessed to have one of those moments yesterday when I met an online blogging friend in person. What a blessing it was! Thank you for being here Beth and for sharing your wisdom with me too. Have a blessed Easter with your family!
I love these little breaks – little God moments. In mentoring people often say that they want to hear God and so often it turns out he was there all along they were just not listening. I need reminding of this too – busy is so noisy – thank you 🙂
I love that you describe busy as being noisy-I agree and when I think about this it rings true. Busy causes you to lose focus and then you’re caught in a place where nothing is done well. I need to be reminded that God is always with me and when He sends me those moments that cause me to pause, He just wants to let me know that all is well and He is near. I love it! Thank you for being here and sharing your voice in the conversation. Blessings!
Mary,
So much of what you said, I get it. I hear the message… yet, like your question, I have to check myself and see if I am really listening. We have to do that when we sit in His presence, listen and hear. The Word says be both hearers and doers, right… the actively hearing and the intentionally doing. I think that to listen does require deep intention on our part because we are way too distracted by all that is around us.
Even in our busy moments, we can focus on the one good thing.. the true thing.
Praying you will be encouraged as you encourage others!
Thanks for sharing this today.
Bless you!
Dawn
Blessed that you are here today, Dawn! I have to ask myself the hard questions often because I find that I am not always doing what I say I am doing and God calls me out out on it. I let myself become distracted and my mind wanders to the point I feel I need to start my quiet time all over. God sends me His sweet reminders in the way of those “break” moments throughout my day. Now I need to learn how to extend those moments into longer period of uninterrupted time. Thank you for encouraging me to encourage others. Blessings,friend!
These words hit home for me this morning, Mary, since I ‘listen’ for a living. Maybe the greatest challenge for me is to listen well when I’m not doing it with a client. Most particularly with my family.
Listening to others, listening to God … these are like the air I breathe.
But it’s my family that needs me to listen well. And keep quiet in doing so.
I seem to be the worst at listening with my own family or close friends. I need to work on my intentionality more with those I love the most. Thank you for sharing here and even when we listen for a living we need God to intervene and become the center. Praying we hear with a heart that yearns to listen well in order to deepen our relationships with those around us. Blessings!