Today was one of those days.  The second day of school.  We’re still trying to get in the swing of things after a summer of sleeping in.  And some of us are morning people.  Okay, one of us is a morning person.  (Not me).  Three of us are not morning people.  Alas, I digress…

 

Today it starts early.  Little Miss woke up on the wrong side of the bed.  Came downstairs wearing play clothes but it’s a school day.  I’m fairly certain the neighbors considered calling CPS before it was time for her to get on the bus.  No less than five meltdowns.  *I* was ready to melt down by the time she got on the bus.  Hmm…  actually I guess I kind of did melt down.  And then?  Quiet.  

 

But after school was more of the same.  She percieved every instruction or comment as a personal attack.  And she pinched the cat.  Just because.  And she didn’t want to turn off the TV.  And she didn’t want to practice for her piano lesson.  And she told me she hated her life.  Meanwhile her (smart) teenaged sister hides.  

 

I’m not going to lie; by dinner time I was done.  D~O~N~E.  I didn’t want to listen to her anymore.  She knows which buttons to push.  (I hate my life, Mommy.  You.are.so.mean.)  Things were escalating.  And then I heard it.  

 

It’s always there when we slow down, quiet down, and listen.  Really listen.  Or maybe, it’s more about us and when we’re open to hearing.

 

….I always listen to you.  Even when you’re having an unlovely moment.  Now YOU listen to HER.  She needs to be heard.  She needs to know you care.  Because she feels small and out of control….

 

And that’s just what God does for us, isn’t it?  He listens to our hearts and knows our needs long before we know we need them.  And He knows what’s best.  Not just what seems good or like a great quick fix.  As if we had a clue.  He knows.  And He hears.  And He listens.

 

And we are washed in His grace.  Changed from within.  When we listen to what He says, we are restored.  Refreshed.  Renewed.  

Listen….

“I have drawn you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness”

~Jeremiah 31:2

(even when you don’t feel very loveable….)

 

“I will lead [you] beside streams of water on a level path where [you] will not stumble”

~Jeremiah 31:9

(even when you have no idea which way to go…)

 

“I will turn [your] mourning into gladness; I will give [you] comfort and joy instead of sorrow.”

~Jeremiah 31:13

(even when you just don’t know how you can go on and you’re not sure there will ever be joy again…)

 

God is good and He wants to love you.  Let him.  And on days when nothing seems to go right and everything is loud.  When your kids are fighting, and the phone is ringing and the cat ran off with the toilet paper again….

 

….well, probably that’s only my house, but I know you have those days too, minus the toilet paper swiping feline, of course.  The things that push your buttons and frustrate you to the point of tears.  On those days, we have to listen hard and press in to God even harder.  Our feelings would tell us He’s not there and He doesn’t care.  But listen to Him.  He’s closer than a breath.  And He wants to speak to your heart.

 

Let Him.

 

Listen…..

 

This post is part of Tuesday at Ten.  You can check it out here.