I have laryngitis.  I don’t have a fever or the flu … just some sinus drainage and gunked-up, frozen vocal chords that have reduced my voice to a whisper.  This usually happens to me once a winter.  I’m not uncomfortable.  I’m just silent.  Ted will ask me something from the other room and I will answer him.  Only, he doesn’t hear my answer and thinks I’m rude and not listening. 

I was supposed to do this ‘thing’ at church this past Sunday, but it had to be delayed until next Sunday when I will (hopefully) have my voice back.  Ted and I went to church anyways.  I felt fine; just no voice.  As we mingled after service with friends and I tried to add my two cents comment on what we were talking about, our little group of friends went silent and stared at me.  They knew that I had laryngitis.  But if I wanted to talk, everyone else had to be quiet and really lean in and listen to what I had to say.  It wasn’t long before I was out of the conversation because any attempt I made to add to the conversation, well, they didn’t hear me!  It was too hard for them to hear and listen to my whispers.  I wasn’t mad.  It was just eye opening. 

It made me think.

When you are with a group of friends and someone has something important to say, that person will get excited and raise their voice to gain attention and be the main speaker.  We all do it.  With our children, don’t we raise our voice each time we have to repeat what wasn’t heard the first time, or the second time? 

The other day I went to Hobby Lobby with Lena and Margot, two of my granddaughters.  We had fun ooo’ing and ahhh-ing at all the fun crafts and stuff.  As we meandered our way to the check-out, six year old Lena stopped to examine something.  She was a couple feet in front of me with her back to me.  A pair of pretty earring caught her eye and she softly said, “oh – those are Delft.”  Ummm …. How does a six year old know that?  I walked away laughing.  Now you have to understand that I am very attentive to my grandchildren.  In fact, after we visit with our kids and grands, I have to ask Ted about what the ‘grown-ups’ talked about.  I was busy listening to the little voices.  I make a point of listening.  If I had not been attentive to what Lena was doing and saying, I would have missed that gem.  What a smart little girl!  She was correct – they were Delft!

If you have small children or grandchildren, I urge you to listen to them.. They sometimes have the most incredible things to say.  Everyone wants to just be heard.  Even grandmas with laryngitis!

But also, God speaks to us much more than we realize.  Do you hear Him?  It may be that still, small voice that you don’t have the time or patience to listen to.  He doesn’t often choose to shout an answer to our prayers to us; He is not a God of force but rather a gentle, loving father.  Perhaps a ‘spiritual laryngitis’ might be helpful so that we can be forced into silence so that we can hear what He is saying.  Oh, I do love a hearty and lively conversation with my friends.  There are times, however, to be quiet and listen – to children ….  To God’s voice.

Just listen.

Laurel

Proverbs 1:5  Let the wise listen and add to their learning.

Proverbs 18:13  To answer before listening -that is folly and shame.