When Listening is Coloring Beautiful

Have you ever been surprised by someone listening to you? Someone you didn't expect? Someone that took you off guard?

I asked this question in a class I was teaching at our church this week, quoting a line from the book The Listening Life by Adam S McHugh.

Some people had an answer right away. Others had to go back several years to come up with something. One lady--an elderly widow--shared about a mechanic who listened to her about her car trouble. He listened without making her feel small. Another shared about a youth pastor who listened to her questions about faith, often asking her pointed questions in return

.I remember several months after my mom died when a friend called me on the phone, inviting me for coffee.

"I want you to talk the entire time about your mom," she said.  "Take all the time you need."

Whoa. What a priceless gift.

Listening is validating. Welcoming.  Listening makes a person feel known.

On one of my recent trips to visit our grandchildren in Tucson, our oldest grandson said, "Grandma, can you sit next to me while I color and tell me that what I am doing is beautiful?"

I laughed and complied, but am I not also the young child waiting to be told that what I am doing is beautiful?

Aren't you?

Who is listening to you? To whom are you listening?

Have you told someone that what they are coloring is beautiful?

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