HOW WELL ARE WE LISTENING?

How well are we listening right now, friend? And to be clear, when I say WE I mostly mean ME. At the cusp of 2020, when the year ahead was brimming with potential and promise, I declared my “one word” for the year to be “LISTEN”. I had no clue. Today, the tragedies of a global pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement fill our minds and break our hearts—and we are only halfway through the year. Who to listen to? How to learn? Is there still hope? Surely, there is always hope…

“Listen well to wise counsel and be willing to learn from correction so that by the end of your life you’ll be known for your wisdom.” Proverbs 19:20

I quoted this verse in my new year’s post thinking perhaps I might need a little advice with my writing, maybe editing my books would be the “thing” that I would learn from by correction. Good grief.

Back then, I knew diddly squat about viruses and thought Corona was just a beer. And if I can be honest, I was equally as ignorant about the Black Lives Matter movement, to my absolute shame. And it’s June and I feel like I have a headful and a gutful of COVID19 information. Months of listening to numbers and looking at graphs and having your heart break over and over as so many lives have been taken or thrown into turmoil. Lord, help us!

And now.

Now, our world has been shaken again and we need to stop and listen with such keen hearing as we learn more and more about everything surrounding BLM. My ignorance is being chipped away and I long for a soft heart full of love, fuller than it’s ever been.

“But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do,

what God is looking for in men and women.

It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor,

be compassionate and loyal in your love” Micah 6:8

Listen and learn.

Where to begin? I know, it’s overwhelming. We are being offered a myriad of resources all over the web, for which I am truly grateful. But if you are wanting to listen and learn, may I suggest the following from a couple of women I respect?

FOR LISTENERS: Annie F. Downs’ website has a huge list of podcasts (her own and others) and voices to follow: RACIAL RECONCILIATION RESOURCES
FOR READERS: Back in February, Anne Bogel (aka Modern Mrs. Darcy) posted a list of books in both fiction and non-fiction in an array of genres, all written by black authors. She also includes a list of fantastic Instagram accounts to follow: BLACK AUTHORS WRITING ABOUT VAST AND VARIED BLACK EXPERIENCES

It’s a start. And we need to start somewhere. I need to start somewhere…

LISTEN.

LEARN.

LOVE.

Imagine for one moment what this wrung-out world would look like if we could all make an effort to really listen. To God and to each other. To seek wisdom, hear truth, and love EVERYONE as we should.

Stay safe and listen well,

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