One of the things I have been doing recently is listening.
Prayer garden where I spend a few minutes each morning
One morning not long ago, I was sitting in the prayer garden at school and thinking, “Wow it is not raining and yet there are no birds out chirping. That is unusual.” But then as I sat, I realized that when I stopped the conversation in my head, paid attention and really listened, that in fact the birds were chirping and I could hear the wind blowing in the trees. I had not heard them because I had tuned them out and pushed them to the background. They had been silenced by my brain.
Flowers I am noticing as I sit in silence to hear what God would say to me.
Listening to hear what God is saying is similar because so often my head is filled with my thoughts and plans. Silencing them to hear the voice of God requires work. I must retrain my brain to silence my own thoughts and dialogue and instead concentrate on the quieter voice within. I have found in the last few months that it is worth it to learn to sit in the silence and listen, not to my plans and concerns for the day but for the chirping of the birds, which means I am ready to hear the voice of God.
Flowers I had not noticed before remind me that I need to take time to listen and notice.
