Hubby got up shortly after I did this morning, made and brought my coffee to me, and then I heard him taking a shower. Today is Wednesday and he has his men's Bible study at IHOP at 5:30AM. (That is just WAY too early to be awake, dress, leave the house, and go somewhere else!) He will usually come in around 5:15 and tell me he is leaving, and leave my door open (for whatever reason). This morning, however, he hasn't come in to tell me he is leaving. I notice it is now 5:28AM and it's quiet in the other room. Did he sit down and fall asleep? Did he change his mind about going this morning? He does have several things going on this morning, 8AM doctor appointment, 10AM dog grooming (but the groomer does come here). I could get up and go see, but it's too late for him to leave and go so if he has fallen back to sleep, I'll let him sleep. I'll come out of here in plenty of time for him to go to the doctor. He could have just changed his mind about going.
I don't have much on the calendar to do for work today so it may be a long day. I must stay at my desk; or check the computer frequently to see if there is something I need to do. I could clean out my folders. That would probably be a good idea to delete some things I no longer need, especially since my other boss is gone now.
I have one week left on my Elijah study and guess who hasn't even started it! I don't know why I haven't - the book is sitting right here - and I keep forgetting about it. I definitely need to get started on it today while I don't have a lot to do and get caught up. I heard the first day of this week is a long one so it may take me a couple days to get it done. I need to listen to the audio part of the lesson - which is only about 20 minutes - and that's one reason I haven't started it - I want to listen to it first and of course 'fill in the blanks'.
Have you ever taken a course where you have to fill in the blanks and you keep listening for them to use those exact words so that you know what word goes in there......... and then you discover they have already moved on to the next paragraph and YOU MISSED THAT WORD? I hate when that happens! At least I can 'rewind' the audio and listen again (and again) until I figure out that even though she was giving the blanks in the next paragraph, she skipped that paragraph you were waiting on, and went back to it AFTER the next paragraph. Keeps you listening, though!
How many times has our spouse or our child been talking to us and we MISSED the entire conversation? Missed the words they were trying to emphasize to us? We were pre-occupied, we really weren't interested in what they were saying, we were angry and didn't WANT to listen, or we were just choosing to ignore them. Ouch. Does that hit home?
Do you (I) realize how important that conversation was to that child, that spouse, that friend?
So we realize then they are waiting on a response of any kind from us.....and we have nothing. We weren't giving them our undivided attention so have no idea what they had just said. What do you do? Do you just grunt and say 'I don't know' and they look at you and have this confused expression on their face becuase they just gave you all the information....and you 'don't know'?
I wonder if we could instead respon with 'well, tell me your thought about it', or perhaps we could just say 'I'm sorry, my mind was elsewhere and I didn't hear what you said. Would you mind repeating it?' It may frustrate them that you weren't listening, but at least you were honest enough to say "I didn't hear what you said, please tell me again". And then give them your undivided attention.
We spouses tend to do that to each other frequently, don't you think? We turn a 'deaf ear' to the person we live life with. Why do we do that? Because we are consumed with ourselves? Perhaps we need to think of that other person.....just saying. Yeah, I'm guilty here so I'm not preaching to the crowd.
Each one of us is a Treasure to love and behold. Not only do WE want to be treated with respect and love, but so does everyone we come in contact with. Let' s make that our focus today, shall we? Today, give your child or spouse your undivided attention when they speak to you. Actually listen to what they have to say. Respond to them and ask questions, if needed. Let them know that you value them. If we make it a point to do that every day... we will find the atmosphere in our homes will be much calmer, more joyful, more loving, more kind.
One day at a time.
Blessings.
No comments:
Post a Comment