Barbara Streisand sang about people needing people being the luckiest people in the world. Sam and I tend to agree although we’re a little shy about the word need, because in our modern-day world people who exhibit “need” often are considered wimpy and clingy.
But we do need people don’t we? We especially need people to listen to us. Listening skills seem to be in short supply these days. I don’t know about Sam, but I really enjoy sitting down beside people and listening to their stories - generally, that is. Admittedly, some people turn out to be obnoxious or total bores. But by and large, people who listen to people learn some amazing and wonderful things and the experience turns out to be utterly delightful.
Saturday afternoon on our way home from Montana, Kathleen and I stopped at the Coeur d’ Alene Resort in Idaho for a libation and lunch. After our margaritas and Cobb Salads we shared a huge piece of cheesecake topped with huckleberries. I almost died and went to heaven right then and there.
But another thing that made our stop enjoyable was talking to the man we sat down next to. He was seated at one end of a couch looking out over the lake and the only seats available in the cocktail lounge were on the couch next to him. So, we ate and looked enviously at the lake and visited with that man. We never learned his name or his previous occupation, but we did learn that he was 83 years old (he didn’t look more than 75) and at the end of a week-long golfing trip. He was waiting to be called to board a bus that would take him to Spokane airport so he could fly home to Santa Clara, California. Of course he knew where Livermore - my old stomping grounds - was. He told Kathleen and I that his wife had died about 10 years earlier and he now kept himself busy traveling and playing golf. One of his older sons lived with him at home so he didn’t get too lonely, he said. But you could tell he still missed his wife. He apparently was a pretty steady-type guy because he said he had only been married to the one woman and had lived in his present house for more than 40 years. Later, I felt so blessed by talking to that man I was moved to pray for him.
I think I related to you that I recently read a book by River Jordan titled Praying for Strangers wherein the author recounts instances when she told people she was going to pray for them. Her stories about those encounters were extremely touching.
Many people go through life wondering what God wants from them and how they can become better persons. I know one thing he wants. He wants us to need other people to the degree that we are willing to sit down beside them and let them talk. You’ll often have to break the ice by saying something silly or stupid to get a person’s attention, but boy once the floodgates are opened it can be difficult to shut them again. But that’s OKAY.
One of my few regrets in life is that I didn’t take more time to listen to my children when they were younger. What was so important that I thought I couldn’t spend a little more time listening to them? I was so busy trying to earn a living I was foolishly spending the treasure God had given me.
Three bags of poop on not needing people enough to listen to them. Hear what I’m saying?
But we do need people don’t we? We especially need people to listen to us. Listening skills seem to be in short supply these days. I don’t know about Sam, but I really enjoy sitting down beside people and listening to their stories - generally, that is. Admittedly, some people turn out to be obnoxious or total bores. But by and large, people who listen to people learn some amazing and wonderful things and the experience turns out to be utterly delightful.
Saturday afternoon on our way home from Montana, Kathleen and I stopped at the Coeur d’ Alene Resort in Idaho for a libation and lunch. After our margaritas and Cobb Salads we shared a huge piece of cheesecake topped with huckleberries. I almost died and went to heaven right then and there.
But another thing that made our stop enjoyable was talking to the man we sat down next to. He was seated at one end of a couch looking out over the lake and the only seats available in the cocktail lounge were on the couch next to him. So, we ate and looked enviously at the lake and visited with that man. We never learned his name or his previous occupation, but we did learn that he was 83 years old (he didn’t look more than 75) and at the end of a week-long golfing trip. He was waiting to be called to board a bus that would take him to Spokane airport so he could fly home to Santa Clara, California. Of course he knew where Livermore - my old stomping grounds - was. He told Kathleen and I that his wife had died about 10 years earlier and he now kept himself busy traveling and playing golf. One of his older sons lived with him at home so he didn’t get too lonely, he said. But you could tell he still missed his wife. He apparently was a pretty steady-type guy because he said he had only been married to the one woman and had lived in his present house for more than 40 years. Later, I felt so blessed by talking to that man I was moved to pray for him.
I think I related to you that I recently read a book by River Jordan titled Praying for Strangers wherein the author recounts instances when she told people she was going to pray for them. Her stories about those encounters were extremely touching.
Many people go through life wondering what God wants from them and how they can become better persons. I know one thing he wants. He wants us to need other people to the degree that we are willing to sit down beside them and let them talk. You’ll often have to break the ice by saying something silly or stupid to get a person’s attention, but boy once the floodgates are opened it can be difficult to shut them again. But that’s OKAY.
One of my few regrets in life is that I didn’t take more time to listen to my children when they were younger. What was so important that I thought I couldn’t spend a little more time listening to them? I was so busy trying to earn a living I was foolishly spending the treasure God had given me.
Three bags of poop on not needing people enough to listen to them. Hear what I’m saying?
No comments:
Post a Comment