LISTEN to what you SEE

Just finished a plate of pancakes with strawberries. 

Caroline and I are enjoying "a night in" together.  Ava is gone to a birthday party.  Shep and Zeke are off doing boy stuff that most certainly includes shooting rifles and shotguns and such.

The house is oddly quiet. 

Francesca Batistelli is singing in the background (love her) and Caroline is making delightful sounds as she rips up an old magazine.  She loves doing this.  She lays on her side and uses her left hand to turn the pages and rip them out. 
I guess it is the equivalent of what it feels like to rip open presents...just minus the presents.

Anyway I thought this might just be the perfect time to sit down and type out some of what has been rolling around in my brain lately.

A couple of weeks ago I attended a memorial service for a dear friend's mom that passed away.

It was obvious that she was a kind and generous woman. 

Observing her family it seemed as though her love kept on  living...even after she was gone.

Before she had passed away she had told her daughter that if she had any advice to give at the end of her life it would be this:  listen to what you see.

Wow.

5 powerful little words.

I try to be a good listener. 

Sometimes my ADD tendencies get in the way with that.  (I am easily bored)

But I am rather nosy.

I notice stuff.

I notice people.

I notice body language.

I notice expressions and tension. 

I notice fear, anxiety, and anger.

I notice insecurity.

God has been working in my heart and life since I was 9 years old.  But this past year or so He has begun a new work. 

It has kind of caught me by surprise.

It seems as though most of my life God has been slowly teaching me to love Him.

But in this past year....He has opened my heart up to love people.  Really love them.

After all~ loving Him means loving what and WHO He loves.

He loves scoundrels.
He loves drunks.
He loves liars.
He loves addicts.
He loves haters.
He loves idiots.
He loves doubters.
He loves racists.
He loves abusers.
He loves betrayers.
He loves thieves.
He loves sinners.

Here is the thing:  I AM ALL OF THAT.

My heart has been made new.  But I know the thoughts that I think.  I still battle with my flesh.


Without Jesus...I would reach for any and all "feel good" remedies.  I would ache for fulfillment.  I would chase after empty thrills just to feel something.

When we see ourselves as who we really are ~ then others aren't so bad.

Loving them is no longer a chore. 

Loving them is easy.  Because they are JUST LIKE US. 

One way believers can do this is to take the advice my friend's mom gave: listen to what you see.

Most people don't want to be in the spotlight but they do like being noticed.

Look around.

Someone needs an encouraging word.
Someone desperately needs a compliment.
Someone is falling apart.
Someone is contemplating leaving their spouse.
Someone is depressed.
Someone is battling addiction.
Someone is losing hope.
Someone needs a miracle.
Someone has bills they can't pay.
Someone needs a second chance.

Listen with your eyes.

I have heard it said that when Jesus lived he was a very busy man on a mission but He was never in a hurry.

Our hurried lives keep us from having fellowship.

Being in a hurry all the time leaves very little room to love people.

I am right smack in the middle of learning this lesson with God.

He has to go super slow with me. 

But as I have began to listen to what I see and engage people that I have never noticed before...my life has begun to bulge with blessing.

Some folks may take me the wrong way but when love is our motive even that isn't offensive.

Being free enough with myself to love others is seriously the coolest thing I have experienced in a long time.

Lives change with love. 

He modeled it for us.

Let's look around and listen with our eyes. 

We may never know the impact that our love has on someone else.

Matthew 22: 37-40
 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.  The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments."'