//Listen

Let the wise listen and add to their understanding and let the discerning get guidance." Pr 1:5

It's so much about our senses. What we see, what we feel, what we hear gives us our perspective in life. Hope, to me, is having our perspective enlarged. That means going outside the normal realm of my senses and learning what Jesus thinks about all of it.  I so often fall into literal thinking. It's my default when I'm overwhelmed or tired. I give in to my natural senses. But the world is every shade of color, not just the primary ones.

I had to meet a man and received information about him from another. As I listened I heard some things I had dealt with previously. My heart sank. Tired of mentally battling through the differences between people and me, I sat and prayed and tried to listen beyond my complaining attitude. Anger and anguish are loud when words don't communicate. We really want our hearts to be heard more than the words we say. God bids me to draw near to Him, not so much so He can hear us , but so we can hear Him.//

So I went. As I looked around, what he told me about himself was reflected all around  him; his art, his photography, his books, a synopsis of his 82 years in less than 10 minutes. In the remaining time I listened deeper and heard loneliness and pain mingled with anticipation and hope for continued and increasing strength. We connected in ways I never expected. I had presumed according to yesterday's  experiences.

Everyone really just wants the same thing, to be loved and heard. Our manifestations only serve to unveil how much we really listen to how much love we receive. Jesus loves us. Period. It's based on who He is, not who we are. Drawing near to God and listening will clear out all the presumptions and prejudices, putting us in a place to give others hope.

When I finished my visit I left as a friend. No assumptions I had when I came lived. I didn’t have to be concerned about our differences. I listened and love was the result. The rest is up to God.

Five Minute Friday with Kate Motaung