Edward Farrell said,
“Listening is rare. There are certain people to whom we feel we can talk because they have such a deep capacity for hearing, not just our words, but hearing us as a person. They enable us to communicate on a level we’ve never reached before. They enable us to be as we’ve never been before.”
We will never truly know ourselves unless we find people who can listen, who can enable us to emerge, to come out of ourselves, to discover who we are.
We cannot discover ourselves by ourselves. Note the words “there are certain people…who enable us to be as we have never been before. Those are the people you need most. Consider these questions:
Who coaches you? What older, wiser, and more experienced person stands on the sidelines of your life and watches with the big picture in mind? A coach doesn’t try to run the race for you. No, he sets the standard for the race and makes a judgment on your performance.
Who does this for you? Who stretches your mind? Who makes you wince as they expose the many faces of your ignorance; who will not let you get away with spiritual and intellectual superficiality. Who listens to and encourages your dreams? Dreams are not intellectual propositions that must be proven.
They are the work of visionaries; they are out-of-the-box, frequently awful and occasionally good. These are the folks who, when others laugh and say you’re trying to build castles in the air, remind you that God “calls those things which be not, as though they are” (see Ro 4:17). (By Rick Godwin)
These are the people you need!
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19 comments:
Double the fun.
Precious girls.
Happy WFW
Blessings
They're precious! Thanks for your kind words to me on my blog! Have a good week...
This post touched me deeply. For many years now I have not really had someone to talk with and receive feedback from. Part of that is my own doing as I so easily tend to draw back and isolate myself. As to your question of who it is that has mentored and helped me I did think back to many years ago when I DID have a very sweet godly lady who listened to me....gave me great advice....encouraged me...prayed for me. I'm older now and I suppose it's my turn to be that mentor for someone younger now.
I appreciate your saying that we NEED to talk to someone so that we can be the person we aught to be. Sometimes I feel selfish when I get things so "bottled up" and need to talk. But I guess that's just normal to want to "vent" to someone, huh?
Hope you're having a good week!
Marilyn
Susan what an insightful message. Questions that we all need to ponder.
The girls are beautiful.
Love ya.
What precious girls, Susan! This verse and devotional resonated within me. The one who listened so well to me is now riddled with Alzheimer's. I have my mother but there are things I can't or choose not to share with her. However, my best friend Harriett is this visionary, this person described. We are each other's listener. Happy WFW!
Hey you!!
Another PRICELESS pic of those grands! You know I'm reading a book on Spiritual Direction and Henri Nouwen is clear that we NEED to listen not just to God but to each other....since that is often how God speaks...It just goes PERFECTLY with this posting!!
I KNOW those boys of yours rise up and call you BLESSED....I'm sure you'll be spoiled Sunday!!
love you!
lori
Beautiful!
I hope that you're having a great week!
Just precious ~
beautiful! they are so precious! great job!
Blessings Susan!!! Two are better than one! Twice the FUN! So adorable and beautiful, such a keepsake! Ready for Mother's Day!
Thank you for sharing the message on LISTENING! Stretching us with the reflective questions.
Enjoy WFW & have a wonderful weekend & Mother's(grandma's 2) Day! That's power of two in YOU!
Thanks for blessing me with your visit & sweet words!
What beautiful girls! I love the Scripture and the thoughts that accompany it. I love the questions posed as well. God bless!
Love the picture. Listening...may we all listen twice as much as we speak. "Quick to listen, slow to speak..."
Beautiful girls & beautiful words!
Blessings to you!
Absolutely beautiful photograph of the girls!!
Such sweet, sweet girls.
Beautiful picture. Thank you for your words of encouragement - we are looking at this at our church at the moment (mentoring etc.). Blessings!
What adorable little girls! I love that picture! :o)
Thank you so much for stopping by my blog and commenting. I especially thank you for praying for Westin! The Dietz's are friends, neighbors, and part of our church family.
I visit Tonya's blog, and I know you are a close friend of hers. Nice to meet you, too! :o)
Blessings,
Beth
Your comment on my blog this morning brought me to tears. I love you.
What a precious photo!
And I love the inspiration. Listening well to others is so important.
I often coach others, but I have to stop and consider who coaches me? Two ladies in my Bible study, my father, my daughter and of course my husband. What a blessing they all are!
A wonderful post, Susan. (((Hugs)))
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