Weekly Inspiration
January 30, 2012
Good Afternoon,
One of the most frequently spoken directives in a school is to listen. Sometimes this admonition involves encouragement ("Did you hear what Josh said? A terrific observation! Say it again, and everyone listen"), and occasionally it is tinged with annoyance ("Is anyone listening to me? PLEASE listen!"). Listening, no matter how old you are, is hard work. When I asked a delightfully energetic 7 year old student why listening was challenging for him, he responded with commendable honesty, "Because it's so much more fun to talk!"
Stephen Ministry is all about listening with both ear and heart to others. But the following meditation by Henri Nouwen, is about spiritually selective listening. The world is a noise-filled place, and many people, like my young friend, find it much more enjoyable to talk than to listen. In addition, some people may be sending us messages that are at best unhelpful, and at worst devaluing and devastating. Nouwen asks us in his message to make space for the voice we most need to hear:
**********
The Still, Small Voice of Love
Many voices ask for our attention. There is a voice that says, "Prove that you are a good person." Another voice says, "You'd better be ashamed of yourself." There also is a voice that says, "Nobody really cares about you," and one that says, "Be sure to become successful, popular and powerful." But underneath all these often very noisy voices is a still, small voice that says, "You are my Beloved, my favor rests on you." That's the voice we need most of all to hear. To hear that voice, however, requires special effort; it requires solitude, silence and a strong determination to listen.
That's what prayer is. It is listening to the voice that calls us "my Beloved."
***************
May we hear God's voice, cutting through the noise of the world, greeting us with boundless love in prayer.
Jan Annett
Please keep in your prayers:
Jerry Poll, Cathy Rogers, Lisa Heath, Kila Tripp - hospitalized
Rachel High, rehab following surgery
Sue Volz, returning to MD Anderson for additional tests
Kimberly Conrad, in Haiti for mission work
Joy: The birth of Andrew Michael Buchman, 1-27, son of Kent and Melissa Buchman, nephew of Krista and Michael Howard
