When people share from their heart, do we listen?
My Google Reader is filled with “starred” posts again. I “star” a post when I want to go back to it later, to read it again, to think about what the author is saying, to comment, or perhaps all of the above.
I’ve noticed that in many of these “starred” posts – the posts that caught my attention – the author is sharing from the depths of his or her heart, sharing the pain and struggle of life, sharing the fears and rejection and disappointments and tears. And, these posts have caused me to wonder about myself: What do I do when someone shares these kinds of things with me? Do I listen… really listen? Or do I immediately try to “fix” the problem?
I’m going to share some of these posts with you for one reason… that we can all learn to listen to one another better:
- “I’m a little legalist” by James at “Seeking a Kingdom“
- “Wondering whether I’ll ever really follow Jesus” by Joshua at “Called to Rebuild“
- “Hard to Live by Grace” by Mark at “Called Out in Kansas“
- “comfortably numb” by Dan at “Some Church Stuff“
- “My husband is an asshole” by Stephanie at “Dead and Domestic“
I invite you to read, listen, and learn along with me.
Thanks for linking to me and Stephanie! BTW, is that the first time you have written the word asshole on your blog? I bet it is!
Dan,
I’m not sure… I haven’t checked. It’s not a word that I normally use because I know that some Christians and some cultural southerners (especially) are offended by words such as “asshole.”
-Alan