2.16.22

I love my mom. Most days after work, as I make the short walk across Wells Street from my office to the parking garage, I put in my air pods and politely ask Siri to “Call Mom”.

One of the reasons I love talking with my mom is because she’s such a great listener. If you know my mom, you know what I’m talking about. This past week, we were talking on the phone and she asked me what I was making for dinner. I didn’t tell her I was in my kitchen, so I asked how she knew I was making dinner. She responded by saying, “I heard your refrigerator close. It’s funny, I can usually tell what you’re up to by the background noises – like your car starting, your garage door closing, or the sound your office door makes.” I was pretty amazed. She not only listens to what I’m saying, but she listens so intently to notice the background noise. That night she taught me something valuable about listening.

Our lives are filled with background noise. Some noises can be heard, others can’t. The best listeners can hear the background noise in our lives – the aspects of our lives which make a sound but aren’t expressed with words. I believe we all need a listener in our lives who cares so deeply and listens so intently, they hear the background noise. A listener like this will ask the questions we didn’t know we needed to ponder and provide the advice we didn’t know we needed to seek. Background noises are usually feelings or struggles we can’t properly articulate. We can ask for answers to a question, or advice for a problem – but there is usually a question beneath the question, or a problem beneath the problem – we just don’t know it. Listeners like my mom can hear the cries of our hearts and can speak to them.

I think God listens a lot like my mom does. God listens to our prayers so intently, He provides us what we didn’t even know we needed. I can admit most of the blessings I’ve received in life, I never even thought to ask for. Or I requested a certain solution, and God provided a much better one – I just didn’t know it at the time. So great is the love of a God who listens to the background noise. Thanks Mom – I was blind, but now I see.

“For your father knows what you need before you even ask him.” – Matthew 6:8