The Crystal Lewis Blog

as i  began to type this, my husband entered the room and began telling me about his thoughts on the housing market crisis that we all face today or the stock market or something…. i don’t know i wasn’t really paying attention.  (plus that kind of topic puts me in an immediate state of numbness and i begin to nod off. ) anyway, as i continued to look up from my computer, at realistic intervals, nodding at him (to give him the impression that i am, in fact, listening, he asks…”so what’s the title of your blog?” to which i reply…”being a good listener.”   we pause.  then let loose with laughter!  wow.  yet another strong confirmation that this is exactly what God is trying to get across to me!  this subject has been hounding me for several days.  it’s something that is very important to me, and yet i’m apparently not very good at it.

can you think of someone right now that you LOVE having conversations with?  ( i can…my mom)  a person that intently listens when you share your heart.  someone that sincerely cares about what you’re sharing. someone that makes you feel like they took on some of your burden so that when you go your separate ways, you feel lighter.  and loved.

ok, now can you think of a person that you dread having a conversation with?  that person that invariably interrupts.  (possibly my biggest pet peeve!) someone that perpetually brings the subject back to themselves at every possible turn.  someone that is easily distracted, doesn’t even let you finish sentences…let alone whole thoughts.  someone that makes you feel inadequate, frustrated, small.

there is a big difference between those 2 people… between those 2 conversations.  which one are you?  which one am i?  what kind of attention to we bestow upon others?  do we convey concern?  are our intentions selfish?  or are they other-oriented?

i have been made painfully aware of my inadequate abilities as a listener during my quiet times, my times alone with Jesus.  more often than not these days i’m finding myself distracted, selfish with my time, and in a hurry, like  i need to get on to the next thing on my list.  and all the while God listens.  he doesn’t interrupt.  he DOES try to bring the subject back around to himself, however!  i’m the one trying to draw the attention to ME.  so that’s me not listening.  yes, he is there to help me. to heal me.  but that only happens when i shut up and listen.  let HIM speak.  and in order for me to hear him, i have to be quiet.  wait.  listen.

maybe this week we can attempt this together?  to sit still, wait and listen.  obviously  it won’t always be for great big long drawn out periods of time…because let’s face it, there are jobs and kids and husbands and pets that do need to be attended to… but we can manage our time better.  i know i fail at this regularly!  but with recognition comes renewal!  so we recognized that we need to change something… now we renew our commitment to do so.  God’s grace and forgiveness allow us to…  they enable us to do it.

Ephesians 2:4-5  ”but because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions- it is by grace you have been saved.”

Psalm 46:10  ”be still and know that I am God”

last week my husband and i began work on a new deck outside. (of course when i say ‘my husband and i’, i really mean a contractor and his team…)  as we started pulling the old, rotting deck apart we found a birds nest underneath the floor boards, perched safely on top of one of the thick heavy log beams.  there were 4 tiny little featherless babies inside.  we watched for a couple of days as the mom came and went, and the dad too i might add, bringing food and cuddling with the little ones inside the nest.  we had a perfect vantage point from the window as there was now no deck to block our view.  one of those days was particularly stormy.  the wind literally howled and blew and the rain soaked the ground.  a perfect summer thunder storm.  during the storm i watched the nest, as the mom sat faithfully in it protecting her little babies.  but even when she flew off for food, the little baby birds remained safe in that nest.  (except when my cat crept out onto the remaining deck framework and tried to scoop them out of the nest! don’t worry i scared her off)  i was reminded of Psalm 91:4

…”He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.” (a rampart is a defense or barricade)

Jesus is my protector. my provider. Jehovah Jireh.  through every storm i’ve encountered he has been my shield.  Psalm 119:140 says “…your promises have been thoroughly tested and your servant loves them!” (exclamation point mine).  he promises to protect and to provide and he comes through every time.  and i have no doubt that in the next storm, he’ll be faithful to pull me thru again.  wether it’s a short summer thunder storm, or a winter blizzard!

well, what to do about the birds? we had no choice but to move the nest.  i looked all over online for advice on whether or not you should/could move a birds nest.  will the mom return? will the babies die? everything i read said don’t move it!  they’ll die!  if you want to be guilty of killing little baby birds…move the nest.  wow.  harsh.  so i actually labored over this decision for like, a day.  then my friend and i put on some gloves, rubbed the gloves in the dirt to, you know, get the human smell off of them, and i got up on a chair and lifted the nest off of it’s post.  i just held it for a while.  the birds were tiny, featherless little things.  i could feel them breathing and moving through the bottom of the nest.  i marveled at the construction of the nest and the creatures inside it.  after one of the construction guys built us a little bird house (fastest bird house ever assembled i think, literally a few minutes).  the bird house was nailed to a tree and i set the nest inside it.  i watched from the window again for a while, waiting to see if the mom would come back.  less than an hour later she did.  i was really glad because i read somewhere that the mom’s basically do nothing but go look for food and then feed the babies every 15 minutes or so.  my kids are teenagers and i’m not looking to go back to the baby stage again.  but i digress….

fast forward a few days… the birds flew the coop saturday morning, July 4th.  the day we celebrated the freedom we have as a country, they celebrated their new found freedom by learning to fly!  i’m grateful that God allows us to see his character in these little ways, like watching nature, his creation by the way.   i’m grateful for the freedom he has granted us in him.  i’m grateful for his protection and provision in my life.