The start of the school year as brought with it a flurry of activity – the neighborhood gang meeting up as they go to and come from school, friends coming and going to study or just ‘hang’ and ‘chill’, teams practicing for and playing game, going to other friend and community sport events, school sponsored events, youth group times, etc.
As a mom, one of my favorite things to do during these times is to watch how my kids interact with those around them. I love being the ‘fly on the wall’. I just sit and listen. As I’ve sat back and listened, I have found moments that are humorous, moments that touch the heart and moments of insight.
I’ve heard:
conversation
Small talk
Banter
Yakking
Chit-Chat
Comments
Venting
Discussion
Expression
Gossip
Remarks
Debate
Visiting
A Powwow
As I stand still, I think about all the different ways we communicate – exchange thoughts, information, and feelings by the spoken word. Each of these words describes a particular form of communication that has its own intent, interaction, meaning and indication of level of relation, engagement and comfort between participants. The more people communicate – regardless of form – deeper bonds form; deeper understanding occurs.
Conversations accomplish more than just verbal exchange.
This leads me to thoughts about my prayer life. Prayer is more than rote memory or requests happening at meals, before bed or in a church. I like and need to think about prayer as a conversation throughout my day with God - having a chat with Him, expressing my thoughts and feelings, venting my fears, having a powwow about life plans, or debating a life issue. In this conversation I need to realize there are two participants – I have a time to speak and a time to listen as He speaks (through His Word, through others, through His creation and directly to my heart). I must admit, I could always be a better listener in this conversation. Through prayer as conversation – deeper bonds form; understanding occurs.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray continually.
No comments:
Post a Comment