Listen!

It’s almost been two weeks since the somewhat sudden loss of my favorite, four-footed companion, Fiver.  I still think about him a lot, but the most difficult times seem to be in the late afternoons and evenings when I prepare and eat dinner and then relax for the night watching a little TV, followed by reading a good book while lying on the bed.  I can’t help but to remember the way he followed me around the kitchen whenever any food came out… be it his or mine… and then sat somewhat patiently at my feet… with the occasional whimper to remind me know that he was still there… while I are dinner. 

After the meal was completed, he would almost always suddenly disappear into the bedroom to rest on the loveseat in the corner, on the floor in front of the couch or right smack in the middle of the bed… many times pawing the decorative throw blanket on top of the bed into a comfortable pile for him to sleep on. 

When I finally retired for the night, got ready for bed and then laid on top of it to read, he would move up close to my face and not let me take one peek at my phone or Kindle until he was satisfied with the amount of petting and scratching that I would indulge him with.  Then he’d turn around and move to the end of the bed to sleep some more or to jump from the bed over to the nearby couch.

All of those activities in the quiet solitude of the evening… many that he also did previously in Oklahoma… just seem to be so engraved in me that I can’t easily forget them!  Not seeing them now, continues to bring the reality of an empty apartment and the sadness of the lack of his presence to my heart.

But… it’s going to get better… and you know why?  I bought me a plant!  So, while I can still come and go… pretty much as I please now (which is really weird to comprehend after 51 years of always having others to care about and coordinate with in the house…), I still have a living organism to see and care for when I walk in the door.

And with that… let me introduce you to JED, my new buddy Jade Jewl Dracaena house plant!  My daughter and I have been talking about getting some house plants for a while and are planning to go to a large nursery located just down the road from our apartments… but I needed something else sooner - that’s physically alive in my abode… and my new Walmart’s limited house plant section met the need.  So… who knows… future blog posts might occasionally tell about some new adventures that JED and I experience together!

But back to Fiver… While I really haven’t had many opportunities to tell his story to the folks around the apartment that we used to see on our daily walks, I have to told different people and their reactions were both expected and curious at the same time!

The expected reaction is the look of shock on their faces and the genuine sorrow that they express.  The curious part is how many of them will say how sorry they are and then immediately go into a long story about how they lost a pet and the tremendous emotional pain and stress that they endured.  And don’t get me wrong… because I know that their experience is their way of trying to connect with my grief and somehow consol me in the knowing that they’ve been through a similar ordeal.

What got me to thinking was how these conversations eventually changed from the discussion of my recent loss to theirs… and then onto their life story of unfortunate events.  When I contemplated on this during my Bible study time this morning, I was reminded of similar conversations in the past, when I would share about the loss of my beautiful wife.  And my first thought was that,

“They were not really listening to me and therefore not able to comprehend nor assist me with MY need at that moment in time.”

But that thought was quickly overshadowed by the personal revelation wondering… how many times did I do the same thing… when people told me about the needful times in their lives?  And Ooooh!  That hurt… because I was instantly flooded with memories of my guilt in that identical situation!  Hummm… I wonder if I am alone in this?  Have you ever considered the possibility that you’ve responded in a similar manner as me?

In discussing His reasoning for teaching in parables, Jesus explained to His disciples that,

“This is why I speak to them this way. They see, but they’re blind. They hear, but THEY DON’T LISTEN. They don’t even try to understand.” (Matthew 13:13 – God’s Word ©) 

Jesus’ words kind of stung to me when I read this today.  I will admit though, that my personal experience with the years of caring for my sick wife and then her eventual departure to heaven and most recently, of the loss of the last dog that we shared together, has definitely helped me to understand what it feels like to be on the other end of reactions like these.  But has it cured me from only thinking of myself and my needs at times?  --- NO!

I guess if I was honest… I’m glad that it took a recent difficulty in order to get me more focused again on the needs of others around me.  As Christians, I believe that is a responsibility that we all carry into our individual worlds that we experience on a daily basis.  In Philippians 4:5 the Apostle Paul instructs us to,

“Let gentleness be seen in every relationship, for our Lord is ever near.” (The Passion Translation)

The word “gentleness” in this particular verse is translated “moderation” in the King James Version and is defined in Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries as “being appropriate” or as I like to say, “letting your thoughts, speech and actions always be appropriate in every situation that you find yourself involved with in your life.”

And for me… that entails me keeping my mouth shut long enough to make sure that I really LISTEN to and hear what the other individual is saying… and then… and only then… make a reply that meets the need at hand and ministers to the heart and life of the person.

Another familiar scripture in this regard, is found in Colossians 4:6 where Paul once again, encourages us to

“Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.” (King James Version) 

Well… that makes it pretty clear to me… How about you?  At the least… It’s most definitely something for all of us to consider… pretty much every day!

My stomach is telling me that it’s time for lunch… so I’d best feed my new buddy JED and me… (actually I fed him some fertilizer and freshened his soil yesterday when I got home from the store?)

Have a terrific weekend, be BLESSED and then pass that BLESSING on to others by the way you LISTEN and then respond as a BLESSING back to them…