Will you be listening?

Good evening and happy beginning of the weekend, it was a nice day here in Utah, no snow, no rain, and warmer temperatures, we even saw a bit of sunshine off and on.  I pray you have had a beautiful day and that your weekend affords you some YOU time.

In prayer this evening as I bowed my head, I felt such a strength in God, I felt that he was very near me and was listening, it was funny...after I said my prayers I was looking for a heartfelt story and came across one that stood out to me, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that He is trying to touch a heart through me, he is needing us to listen with our hearts, to see the blessings he is sending us, to listen to others and to let them teach us. I am so blessed to be able to be a tool for Him, I am so very blessed to be able to put fingers to keyboard and share messages. I love Him so much and wish to only please him. I know that He lives in each of us and I know that every one of us has a message to give, has a light to share and has a purpose, I vow to listen more and more each day to those around me. I pray that your evening is filled with joy and laughter, that love is on your lips and that you are sharing this fact with your loved ones. God bless us by opening our eyes when we rush through and do not hear you. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Here is the story that seemed to pop off of the page at me...I don't question I just do. I hope you enjoy the message and that it sparks an urge in you to listen! God bless each of you. 

Will You Be Listening? 

Author: Amy Rolfs

I made my weekly trip to the post office today. I love going there. It’s one of those small town post offices where everyone knows everybody. I didn’t grow up in this area and really haven’t been here long so I don’t know many of the folks in this community. You know what they say, “A stranger is just a friend you haven’t met yet”. I think that’s why I like going to the post office so much. Seems that each time I’m there, I meet another “friend”.

People fascinate me: how they think, how they feel, where they’re going, where they’ve been. I believe that each of us serve as Gods messengers. Occasionally we’re aware of it, but many times we pass along His messages without even realizing it. So, I tend to pay real close attention to the people I come in contact with and what they have to say. I’m not one to believe in coincidences. I believe that each person that crosses my path, does so at just the right time and for just the right purpose. Sometimes they’re in our lives for a longer period of time and sometimes it’s only for a brief moment in passing. What’s amazing to me are the people that just pass through. In that brief moment they can carry a message with them that can impact your life… but only if you listen.

Today, I was listening. Today, I met one of those special messengers. His name was Charlie. He was an elderly man in his 90’s. At first glance he seemed so frail, walking very slowly, appearing weak and tired. That was just his shell though… the body he’s resided in for so many years. It didn’t take me long to see how strong his spirit was. It lit up the room and spread a blanket of warmth that seemed to touch everyone within reach. What truly captivated me was when he started talking about his wife. The love just poured out with every word. The respect, admiration, the look in his eyes as he spoke about her… there are no words to eloquently describe it. It’s the kind of love everyone hopes to have one day.

I’ve witnessed enough relationships to know that this kind of love does exist. Listening to Charlie today reaffirmed that… it gave me hope all over again. He talked about the day he and his wife first met and how he said to himself, “She’s going to be my wife one day”. He said that the minute he first set eyes on her he somehow knew, in the deepest part of his soul, that they would spend the rest of their lives together. He talked about who he was before she came into his life and who he became after she entered. Charlie said, “everything I am, I owe to her”. Oh, life wasn’t always rosey for them, he assured. They experienced more than their share of hard times and it wasn’t always easy. And then he looked me straight in the eyes and although he was talking to a room full of people, for that moment, I felt like Charlie was talking to only me… he said, “When you love someone, when you really, truly love someone, the pain and the struggles that life throws you… it’s never too much. When love and God are the core of the bond that you share, then you can get through anything.”

I want to be loved like that. Everyone deserves to love and be loved like that. Not the kind of love that “completes” you… although very romantic, I never agreed with that. But rather the kind of love where you go into it complete… whole… but then find that because of this love, you’ve grown in ways you could never imagine. The love that goes beyond understanding. It’s a love that you not only share with each other, but even more importantly with God… knowing that something this powerful can only really come from HIM. And I realized that listening to Charlie – it wasn’t the love that he had for his wife that touched me so much. But rather it was the love that he and his wife had for God that amazed me. It was God’s love that poured out of him as he talked to all of us today. It’s BECAUSE of God’s love that he and his wife had shared this beautiful life together.

I’ve learned a lot of things these past couple of years. I look back at all that’s happened - so many changes. There were times I felt like the rug was ripped right out from under me. I couldn’t understand why it seemed as if all the things I cared most about – needed to be taken away. So much lost these past years. Why? What’s the message? What am I missing? Then it finally dawned on me… all these things I lost, all these things that ended… kept bringing me right back to where it all began... right back to God and Me. That’s the message. I finally get that. Ya hear that God… I finally get it! It all must begin with YOU and me first. The love towards myself, the love towards God, and accepting entirely, above all else… His love for me. Before anything else, that must happen first. Sometimes I guess I need to lose everything in order to find myself and God. Until I do that… I have nothing.

I don’t pretend to know everything or to suddenly have it all figured out. But I know one thing for sure and that is that God will continue to send Charlie, and all His other messengers, to help us along the way. The question is… will you be listening?