Listening well to my kids is something I’m continually working on.
Not out of guilt, but because I know this time is fleeting, and I want to be present.
I want to look into their eyes and really listen to them.
Because I love them.
In the midst of a million distractions,
I know it is vital that my kids know I’m listening.
I’m working on decluttering things and activities around me
so I can be more focused. More intentional. More connected. With my kids.
I want my daughters and son to know that just as I listen now, I will listen when they’re older.
When I half-listen or brush off their thoughts and questions,
it’s easy to miss the moment.
To miss the connection.
To miss showing my kids that what they’re saying matters to me.
If I’m in the middle of something and can’t listen well, I try to tell them to wait a certain amount of time until I can give them my full attention.
So I can connect with them, and hear and know their hearts.
I obviously fall short sometimes since I’m human, but it is worth it to me to keep pursuing the better way of listening well and loving well.
Let’s listen better to the little things now – to those things that might seem unimportant to us, but are huge to them – not only so they’ll know we care, but also so they’ll know we’ll be listening when they’re older.
“Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life.” Proverbs 21:21
Let’s enjoy the “good”, the simple moments, along the way.
We cling to the idea of more.
God wants us to be.
We strive for more.
God wants us to be.
We compare.
God wants us to be.
We worry.
God wants us to be.
It’s a chasing after the wind.
Unsatisfying.
The worry, the more, the envy, leave us empty, bitter, dry, wanting more.
If you’re feeling restless and unsettled, Stop. Just be.
Keep your thoughts steadfast on the Lord.
Soak in Jesus’ words:
“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:13, 14
May we not chase after the wind,
a never-ending feat,
but chase after Jesus,
the Satisfier of our souls,
to have a heart like His,
so we can love like Him,
and transform the world,
starting with our families.
