By now, anyone who knows me well enough know I love to read books. Not just reading them with my eyes, I mean the whole "using-all-your-senses" type of reading experience.
I love the way the paper feels in my hand as I'm holding and reading the book. I'm partial to the thicker pages and pages with a certain texture to them. It gives them an older feel. Almost like the book has been around longer because it's been enjoyed again and again....almost like the book has been passed on from friend to friend. It just feels good like a worn pair of jeans.
I love the way a book smells! (Is that crazy??) I love getting a nose-full every time I go into a library. Now mind you, magazines and newspapers have their own appeal which I like but books.....they're in a league of their own!
I also like to read a book before going to see it on the big screen. Some people told me that it'll just open me up to disappointment from the movie but I disagree. I would want to see if the interpretation is the way I imagined it.
When my daughter was little, she would love to listen to me reading her the Little House books. There was just a way of describing that formed wonderful pictures in our heads. When we got to a really good part, I would pause and tell her that a good writer such as Laura Ingalls Wilder could make us close our eyes and imagine for a moment that we were on that prairie surrounded by the waving tall grasses and looking at the endless blue skies along with her. When her sister, Mary, was blind, Laura would be her set of eyes and describe things around them. How wonderful to have such a loving and descriptive sister like that?
So what does reading have to do with "Listening Is an Act of Love"?
I recently came across a book and that's what the title is. The tagline is "A Celebration of American Life from the Storycorps Project". www.storycorps.net I had never heard of the Storycorps Project so I was interested. It gave me such insight to ordinary people. Everyone has a remarkable story to tell. This project collects the stories of ordinary Americans and gives it a vehicle for sharing, laying down burdens, remembering and often a way of connecting with others. There are little booths that you go into and have a recording device. You make a reservation and then you can bring anyone you want and ask them an interviewing open question. They can be as easy as "Who was the most important person in your life?" to deeper ones like, "How would you like to be remembered?".
At the end of the interview, the tables are turned and the interviewer has a chance to tell what they've learned from the interviewee and what they mean to them.
This was such an eye-opening book for me because living in NYC, there are thousands of people I see everyday on the street, passing by going on the subway; even just in my neighborhood that I don't "know their story" and how important they are.
I devoured the book in 2 sittings. All of the stories are distilled from these interviews. I don't even know how the editors picked from the thousands they received. It would be such a hard job. After I put the book down, I realized....
The only person that knows all their stories to the minute details is God. He sees what they've been through; He knows their every thought; He knows their pain; He feels their sadness; He has always been there. He will always be there.
No one is "ordinary" to God. Everyone is special in His eyes.
"Not even a sparrow, worth only half a penny,can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are more valuable to Him than a whole flock of sparrows." (Matt 10 29-31).
It made me wonder how many of these people knew God and had a personal relationship with Him? The words of love that they had for their parents, siblings, and spouses.... do they feel the same way about their Heavenly Father?
The pain that they feel when their loved ones are gone.... do they know that He who loved us first also misses us when we miss our quiet time with Him?
Thank you, Lord, for listening lovingly to every word I've said to You since I've learned to pray. Please help me to remember You not only when I'm in need but also when in times of thanksgiving. Please help me to lift up others in Your Son's name. Please help me also to remember that everyone is precious in Your eyes and no one is ordinary.
