Ask then listen

Hey friend!

Glad you made it here and glad that whoever you are, wherever you are, we get the next 5 minutes to hangout.  

I have been wanting to write to you for a while now. It’s crazy though because just as I get started writing to you, I walk away for a split second, and within an instance, everything has changed again.

Remember when you were younger and you would pop in the new Kidz Bop CD into your Sony CD walkmen? More importantly, do you remember when the back of the CD would get scratched and it would start skipping!? It’s like you knew the song was going to skip but you didn’t know when so you kept listening. Then, just as you thought you were going to make it through the whole song… SKIP, SKIP, SKIPPPPPPPPP. That is my season.

I want to give you the inside scoop, the good, the bad, and the ugly. I want to let you in on the humor of my prayers months leading up to this season and how I am walking in the midst of so many answered prayers. On that note, if I can give you one piece of advice it’d be, be careful what you pray for.

However, I will save the ins and outs for our coffee date… mainly because when I tell you everything God and I have “exchanged” (A.K.A Him taking away and me pouting for a few days) over the last 9 weeks you will LITERALLY laugh out loud and I wouldn't want to miss that.

But my friend, as I am navigating this season and learning to find magic in the middle ground. One thing has become so clear and if I could grab your hand through the computer screen and grip my light pink nails around your palms, I would tell you this.

Assume the worst, pray for the best, ask and then listen.

It sounds so simple but yet what I am learning is that it is so rare. The more I sit down with people, the more I realize, we are all desperate for a new level of honesty. We are all doing the best with what we have. We are all hurting, we are all longing, we are all dreaming, we are all doing, we are all anxious, we are all battling, we are all wishing, we all have blind spots, and we are all human.

Trade your “what’s good?” for “what hurts?” then listen.

Trade your “how’s your day” for “but really, how’s your day?” then listen.

Trade your “is there anything I can do?” for “is there anything you can’t do?” then listen.

Trade your “how’s your life?” for “how’s your soul?” then listen.

Trade your “I will be praying for you" for “let me pray for you now.” then listen.

Ask about anxiety, ask about depression, ask about their addictions, ask about their recovery, ask about what God is showing them, ask about what God isn't showing them, ask about their family, ask about their fears, ask about their visions, ask about their hopes, ask about their dreams, ask about their prayers, and then listen.

If you're waiting for the right time, I have learned, there isn't one. Time helps but only God heals. The truth of the matter is, God can't heal what we hide.