Listening

One of my sons, "Missionary Guy," enjoyed talking...A LOT...when he was young. From the minute he got up every day until he went to sleep at night, he had lots of stories and things to say. The fact that he was competing with three older brothers may have had something to do with it, but I'm pretty sure he just loved hearing himself talk.

Sadly, I did not always pay attention to what he was saying...I know it was wrong. In my defense, if you constantly hear something, sometimes you tune it out so you can hear something else. I developed the habit of saying, "Uh-huh" while he told his stories so it sounded like I was listening. (I know, your opinion of me is getting worse by the minute. Stay with the story...there's a point.)

One day we were in the grocery store, and he was talking away. I was intent on getting the shopping done. I was walking along pushing the cart, Missionary Guy was talking continually, and I was saying, "Uh-huh" over and over. You get the picture, right? You can probably guess what happened next...

A lady walked up behind me and said, "Uh-huh, uh-huh."

Was she JOKING? I felt like saying, "Mind your own business, lady. You have no idea how long I've been listening to this story." But I just smiled, and then...

Missionary Guy put his precious little hands on my cheeks, turned my face towards his and said, "Listen to my words." I probably don't need to write anything else, but...

In this busy world with lots of things vying for our attention, sometimes we need to take time to stop what we're doing, look at our most important people, and listen to their words.

Here's a picture of Missionary Guy telling Ganmama, "Listen to my words." (I feel a little better knowing that sometimes even she needed a reminder!)