The Telephone

I have just hung up; why did he telephone?

I don’t know…Oh! I get it…

I talked a lot and listened little.

Forgive me, Lord, it was a monologue and not a dialogue.

I explained my idea and did not get his;

Since I didn’t listen, I learned nothing,

Since I didn’t listen, I didn’t help,

Since I didn’t listen, we didn’t communicate.

Forgive me, Lord, for we were connected,

And now we are cut off.

~ Michel Quoist

There are many ways we pray. We confess; we ask on behalf of someone else; we ask for ourselves and our families; we give thanks.

But Quoist’s brief poem (prayer) reminds us of something we know: Prayer is to be a dialogue not a monologue. So, how do you nurture listening to God in your life?

Maybe you hear God’s voice in nature or through a friend or through worship or in Scripture. Whatever the case, I’ve learned that listening can only occur when I make an effort to pay attention.

Yesterday morning I went out onto my patio to do just this. Because of a finicky little dog and a three year old little girl, my sleep had been disrupted in the night so that I was not able to make it to the patio as early as I would’ve liked. Yet, the morning was cool, the coffee was hot and my life was open. I was paying attention.

Psalm 24, so overlooked because of its close neighbor, 23, came to mind: The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof…

Over the cool breeze, under the brightening sky, feeling the mugginess, watching the squirrels work or play – it is hard to tell the difference – and listening to the birds sing I knew, This all is the Lord’s. And my life is, as well.

What a great way to start the day.

Blessings,

Ande