Stop! Look! Listen!

Several times as Jesus is teaching the crowds of people, He tells them, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." Other times He warns not just to hear His words, but to truly listen to them, and then act on what He has said (what we heard).

Listening is pretty important. Twice as important as talking. After all, we do have two ears and only one mouth :) How many times have we heard that one before? Or used it on our kiddos to emphasize their need to listen to us?

This year for Thanksgiving, my sister-in-law Stephanie is having us do a fun project to help us focus on things for which we are thankful. Every year she comes up with something different and unique. Two years ago, she gave us each a number 4 and we filled it up with all the things we are thankful for. Last year, we each wrote out our bucket lists and shared how each person in our family is special to us. This year, Stephanie gave us each an eye and an ear. We are supposed to imagine that a person who has been blind and deaf his/her whole life has just received the gifts of sight and sound. Our job is to think of all the things we would want that person to see and hear for the very first time. I haven't actually written my ideas down on the eye and ear yet, but I thought I would get my brain thinking and at least blog about some of the ideas I have so far.

Sight:

*Niagara Falls (or any waterfall for that matter), but I have personally see this one, and it's absolutely amazing!

*Field of wildflowers

*Mountains: I am thinking specifically of the Rockies and the Grand Tetons that Lawrence and I saw when I was pregnant with Coralyn and we took a vacation to Wyoming

*Sunrise (over the ocean or by water would be even better)

*Sunset (again, by the water somewhere)

*Full moon and a clear starry night

*Rainbow after a storm

*Fish, coral, and other marine life in the ocean

*Fog lifting from the mountains in the Ozarks of Arkansas (Ponca)

*Leaves in the fall (still on the trees)

*Snow falling

*Tulips and Gerber daisies (any flowers really, but these are my personal favorites)

*Words in a book

*Artwork...pictures, photographs, sculptures, etc. (by famous people but also things their children have made like finger paintings and clay coil pots)

*Newborn baby

*Sparkle in a child's eye

Sound:

*Waterfall or running river (rushing water is one of my favorite sounds)

*Crunch of leaves as you walk through them

*Waves lapping/crashing on the beach

*Classical music (and Jazz, and any music really)

*Cry of a newborn baby

*A child's laugh/giggle

*The words, "I Love You"

*Car pulling into the driveway to signal that your loved one is home

I know there are so many more things I can add to my list. I am just having trouble thinking of them right now. If you have any ideas, please feel free to share them with me.

We so often take our ability to see and hear for granted. I can't imagine life without sight or sound. And so I am thankful for this opportunity to take the time to appreciate these amazing gifts God has given me. My brother-in-law Russell is losing his vision. He has an extremely rare condition that causes holes to form in his retina, for no reason. These holes are irreversible. To stop more holes from happening, he has taken numerous pills and even had surgery on his eyes (where the doctor did something so that the steroids are now directly on his eyes and he can take less pills). So far these drastic measures have worked in that no new holes have formed recently. However, for some reason the pressure in his eyes is off the charts (at 30 when it's should be around 12 at the most). This extreme pressure can cause further vision loss! So right now he is considering having surgery to relieve the pressure in his eyes, but of course this is a risky procedure! I cannot imagine being Russell. To have the ability to see for all your life and then after almost 40 years to begin to lose your vision, and seriously face the reality that you might one day be completely blind...

Like I said, I am glad Stephanie has given us this assignment and "made" us stop to think about our ability to look and listen, to see and hear. As I work on my lists, I am more and more grateful for my sight and my hearing. This project has helped me stop and smell the roses, so to speak. I pray that I through this experience I will come to have eyes that see from God's perspective and ears that truly listen to what He is saying, so that I may fully appreciate these "simple" gifts He has given me.