The evening winds down after a full day of family worship, errands & fun time activities, and I just finished getting the kids all in bed. My sweetheart of a husband begins to share many thoughts & concerns of various subjects about life, the kids, his job, and more as I smiled inside enjoying every moment of this wonderfully detailed conversation. What is it about most of us, that as women we "need" to hear about our spouse's day, and "need" to have as many details as possible shared with us in conversation in order to enjoy to the fullest the relationship our Lord so dearly blessed us with to our husbands? I for one am guilty of this. I truly lit up inside to hear my husband pour out his soul to me just out of the blue and value my thoughts & opinions on matters at hand that he had been contemplating for awhile. It made my day! Too often I find myself wishing I knew more of what he was thinking about or why he made certain decisions, but in my reluctance to just ask, I have been selling myself short of what could blossom into an even deeper relationship with the man I love.
Have you ever found yourself hoping for more of the details in your man's life? Do you hesitate to ask him what's been heavy on his heart lately? Well, I hope for all of you, that the chance will present itself - to be the best listener you can be to your spouse on a daily basis. I discovered that if I would just practice the gift of listening more, & share less of my own opinions, I might give my dear husband enough time to express more often what God has placed on his heart lately. Would this be a development that is worth being quiet & learning to listen more? You bet it would be! We are never too old to revamp our listening skills. We are never too wise to receive Godly counsel. Our goals as a wife should be to put the needs of our husband first as often as possible. God gives them wisdom to pass on to us as their wives, & we should truly value every opportunity to hear their advice or counsel & receive it with grace. Who would have thought that by acting in gentleness & quietness with a listening ear & an open mind, I would receive the greater joy & blessing by fulfilling my own need for hearing him share what's on his heart? :) May our Lord meet you where you are & help you meet the needs of others by becoming a great listener today. The rewards for trying are too numerous to mention. May God be glorified each time we practice how to become better "listening servants" for Him.
I find that listening not only works well in relationships with spouses, but also with our children. Being willing to listen and not quickly react is a great tool when dealing with teens. If they know they can come to you and talk about anything with you, they will. I would much rather be the one my children are coming to for guidance than others they might choose to confide in, or feeling like they have to handle their worries alone.
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