Keep Me Listening

Monday August 15, 2011

I ruffled his stick straight, bright red hair, hoping he’d look this way. But no, he just continued with his story, his blue eyes resting on things in the distance, his hands, his feet—everywhere but at me.

So I gently reached up, put my fingers on his cheeks, and turned his head my way, searching out his gaze. It worked for a minute. He launched back into his story and his eyes soon wandered away again.

Finally, I said, “Sweetie.” The story continued. I called him by name and he stopped and looked at me inquiringly. “Honey,” I said, “eyes on my face. Put your eyes on my face."

He nodded, sought my eyes, and continued telling his tale.

How often do I repeat my young son’s performance? I asked myself this morning. My eyes wander, flit from place to place, from phone to email, from activity to activity.

As the pastor talked about prayer, I remembered this mom’s words: “Put your eyes on my face.”

Spoken in my Father’s loving voice, those words remind me, beckon me—they keep me listening, focusing, watching to see what He will do.

“My heart says of you, ‘Seek His face!’ Your face, Lord, will I seek.” (Psalm 27:8)

Linking up today with Michelle at Graceful for Hear it on Sunday, Use it on Monday.