Listen

My Take

DiVoran Lites

When I started this blog, I thought about the song “Listen to the Mockingbird.” It’s not unusual that songs often pop into my mind. I honestly feel that I couldn’t live without music. That’s why I asked for music in my end-of-life directive. That’s one reason for listening.

As I scrolled through songs on YouTube, I came to several versions of “Listen to the Mockingbird,” but the one I couldn’t resist was the one with a pink dinosaur in a children’s TV program. Remember Barney? Our little granddaughter liked him so much she chose a car the same color when she was with her mom and dad shopping for a car. They bought it and called it the Barney car.

Lately, I’ve been trying to listen more and better to God. I get shivers when I recall the times I’ve made decisions without asking the Lord about it.  

I’m not the best listener myself. Take the times when someone is talking to me, and my thoughts fly into the wild, blue yonder. My husband has learned not to be offended when I get distracted but gently start over and fill me in on what he’s been saying.  

Ephesians 4:32 says to be kind and helpful to one another, tender-hearted, compassionate, and understanding, forgiving one another readily and freely, just as God in Christ also forgave you.”

Listening can relieve someone of a burden. It’s like a teeter-totter, your turn to talk, then my turn to talk. Almost everybody likes to be listened to because it opens new areas of companionship, love, and conversation. 

Listening to God is different, though. We don’t usually hear the words with our ears but with our hearts. 

He seems to be saying: most of all, my dear children, listen carefully to what I say. I will help you hear me in everything you do. 

Be wary of shrewd advice that gives you fixes and answers that do not come to be what you thought they were.

Listen when you walk, listen when you talk, and listen in your sleep. I think God pretty much sorts me out at that time, but I don’t remember much of what goes on in dreams. It seems, though, that when I listen to God, changes for the better come even when I haven’t been able to change myself.

Here’s God’s bottom line. “If you need wisdom of any kind at any time, ask Me, and I will answer you without making you feel foolish in any way, no matter what it’s about.” James1:5 (paraphrase)

DiVoran has been writing for most of her life. Her first attempt at a story was when she was seven years old and her mother got a new typewriter. DiVoran got to use it and when her dad saw her writing he asked what she was writing about. DiVoran answered that she was writing the story of her life. Her dad’s only comment was, “Well, it’s going to be a very short story.” After most of a lifetime of writing and helping other writers, DiVoran finally launched her own dream which was to write a novel of her own. She now has her Florida Springs trilogy and her novel, a Christian Western Romance, Go West available on Amazon. When speaking about her road to publication, she gives thanks to the Lord for all the people who helped her grow and learn.  She says, “I could never have done it by myself, but when I got going everything fell beautifully into place, and I was glad I had started on my dream.”

Tags: Inspirational