LISTEN FOR ECHOES
When my son, Jacob, was 10-months-old, we were told that he was profoundly deaf; he had never heard a sound. I remember being devastated until God taught me that you don’t need ears to hear God. So, I began asking God to speak to Jacob and tell him wise and unsearchable things that he does not know (Jeremiah 33:3). I also began to ask God to teach me how to teach Jacob.
It was during this difficult and intimate time with God that God taught me to listen to the echoes – not of sound – but of the heart. God taught me to look and see what Jacob’s eyes were saying. What need was there? What emotion was there in the silence? What hopes and dreams did this little boy have? If I listened with my heart, I could hear what Jacob’s heart was saying because God interpreted for us in the silence that seemed to separate us.
As days and weeks, and years went by, the apparent ‘separation’ got smaller and smaller. In the end, our entire family learned to listen with hearts rather than ears, and we truly began to understand this thing called faith, “the substance of things hoped for – the evidence of things unseen…” (Hebrews 11:1). The unheard (with mere ears) got louder and the unseen (with mere eyes) became more clear.
Jacob is 15-years-old now at this writing. He has a cochlear implant. He hears and speaks beautifully, but I must tell you, his heart hears a heart break 100 miles away. His eyes notice a sad sigh the next block over. He is so attune to matters of the heart, and we thank God for that. We thank God for him. We thank God that God is who He is, and He calls us to do and be miraculous things we never managed we could endure or become through Him.
Last week, Jacob was talking to me about his high school church-camp in Daytona Beach, Florida. He had an amazing time…. “Mom, it’s kinda funny; a girl at camp said that I have the gift of listening. She said I am an amazing listener. Isn’t that kind a funny, considering that I am deaf?”
“Jacob, it sounds interesting doesn’t it? But, son, you learned to listen with your heart way before you ever heard a physical sound. It does make you an amazing listener.”
“Yep. I guess it does. Only with God can you be born deaf and be known as a great listener; only with God, Mom,” Jacob replied.
And then, he went off to play a video game, and I sat down and considered the awesomeness of God.
I encourage you to listen to the echoes of the hearts of those around you. No sound required.
Kristina Seymour loves to encourage and equip women through the Word and through community. She is the author of The Warrior Mom Handbook, The Warrior Mom Leadership Manual, and The Warrior Wife Handbook; they are available at Amazon.com. Kristina's Bible studies are for women who desire to live by faith in the midst of their everyday lives. She has learned that women can't survive on caffeine and animal crackers alone; women in the Word and in community are united and able to stand firm. To learn more about Kristina, please visit her website, https://kristinaseymour.com/. God loves to share His story of love and grace through us all, and Kristina believes that everyone has a story to tell.