Listen Carefully

Sometimes, as a mom, I feel like I am a broken record. I wonder how many times it is possible to say, “Please don’t do that,” in one day. I thought about taking my daughter in for a hearing test after ignoring my requests repeatedly, but then I realized that she has absolutely no problem hearing me when I announce that she can have a cookie. Even when my daughter does answer my requests by saying, “uh-huh, Mamie,” she doesn’t always follow through and do what I have asked her to do. Of course, I realize that even though I am a mom, I often times choose to have selective hearing myself.

Whether we want to or not, most moms are probably guilty of nagging our children every once in a while. It’s quite frustrating to instruct our children to do one thing and watch them ignore our requests. Why don’t they do what we ask? Don’t they know that we love them and know what is best for them? God probably asks the very same questions about us.

At times, some of us don’t seek out God’s voice at all, while others of us listen to God’s words, and then choose to pretend like we never heard anything at all. Perhaps we get caught up in the business of being a mom—cooking, cleaning, laundry, keeping up with the kiddos, or just managing a household. Or, we don’t like what we hear God tell us to do, so we simply ignore His requests and go on with our day as planned. How different is this from a child who doesn’t want to stop to go to the potty because it will take her away from her toys? God loves us and desires the best for us, even more than we do for our own children. The thought is almost hard to imagine, yet I believe it with all my heart. Today, I challenge you to keenly listen to God’s requests and follow through to do what He asks us to do. We will see our lives change before our eyes.