Tiny Devotional for Thursday, 02-18-2021

 A great good morning to all my friends and neighbors in Internet Land! And to family members who have dropped by, warm focaccia bread with olive oil.

A fool does not delight in understanding,
But in revealing his own mind.
Proverbs 18:2, NASB

 I am striving against being a fool this morning!

I WANT to reveal my own mind about something I found in verse 23, but I already blogged on that in December. Alas, I can’t really justify TWO posts on the same verse, when there are so many I’ve not covered yet.

One of the FIRST skills I was taught as a counselor was how to listen. Seems easy, right? 
Sixth grade teacher Mrs. Brown (she had a lovely daughter) told me: 
“You have two ears, and only one mouth. You should listen twice as much as you talk.”
Not me!

By my late 20’s, when I started counselor training, I had a strong habit of listening just enough to know what brilliant, pre-formulated response to make.

This is perhaps a moderately acceptable approach for a person working in tech support, but it is AWFUL in relationships. I like to think I know how to REALLY listen now, though. 

A massive part of that learning process was discovering that I was supposed to be more than a problem solver. People I cared about sometimes just wanted to decompress; they didn’t need me to tell them what they should do. 

That’s true about 95% of the time in personal relationships, and at least 75% of the time in counseling relationships. People need to be HEARD!

But the fool doesn’t provide that service. 
Wisdom begins when the fool says: 
“Why does no one want to talk to me? 
They won’t LISTEN!”


Peace be on your household.


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