Courage to Listen

A few years ago the Team Wooten word of the year was "listen".  In fact, I shared a variety of posts from my "Getting My House in Order" blog on the subject like this post here, A Time to be Silent, A Time to Speak.  It's amazing how messages can come around full circle.  Maybe it's God's way of letting us know that we still need to work on that.  Recently, I was on a campus and saw this poster in the hallway:

This poster grabbed me immediately because it had my OneWord for the year: Courage. Still, when I stopped to actually read the sign I was reminded of the importance of listening.  Many of you know, I have quite the gift of gab so speaking up is usually not a problem. (Although, I have discovered speaking up in some areas are quite uncomfortable for me.  That may be another blog post)  However, when it comes to making time to listen, that's a whole other story!

After listening to God and reflecting on the message of this poster, I realized there are a few reasons it's hard for me to listen.  See if you can identify with any of these:

1.  I must be quiet.  My name is Rachelle- and I am a talker.  I enjoy sharing stories, asking questions, relating with others in positive ways.  So just the sheer nature of having to be quiet takes work for me.  I am so much better than I used to be but it is still something I have to work at doing.

2.  I must be focused.  I am often do many different things at one time-can anybody relate to that?  It is a challenge to stop doing those things and really focus on what my child may be asking, what my husband just said, or what my colleague is concerned about.  It requires courage to let go of what I think may be important to let them know I think what they have to say is important.

3.  I must slow down.  I talk fast. I move fast.  I listen fast.  Yeah, sometimes I find myself telling my husband or my kids, "give me the short version". I know it's not cool, and it's no way to show them how much they mean to me.  Yet, as a working, mother of five I cannot begin to tell you what all needs to get done when I get home.  But I know that it's important to "be in the moment" too.  I know I need work in this area.

4.  I must be still.  Not only do I need to slow down, but in order to listen to Him, I must be still.  I must make time in my day to listen to what He is saying.  I have found that in my busiest moments he seems farthest away.  I pray I will make it a priority to begin my day with him quietly and still.

"Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance-" Proverbs 15:1

Do you have any strategies that make listening easy for you?  What is working for you?

Are you like me and struggle in some of these areas?  Why is it hard for you to listen?  I would love to hear from you, so let me know in the comments.