Listening Intently
Picture this: a classroom of elementary-aged children sitting quietly in their seats, enraptured as an elderly gentleman opens up a suitcase and pulls out various objects—bean bags, balls, clubs…
“Hi, I’m Mr. Wilcox,” he announces,
as he begins throwing first two, three, then four brightly colored balls in the
air. Mr. Wilcox explains that he, a retired elementary school teacher, is going
to show the students how to juggle. While juggling is a difficult skill to
learn, it has many benefits, such as improving hand-eye coordination, focus and
concentration, all of which are important in learning how to read.
The students listen intently as he
explains the various steps involved. A few willing volunteers are selected to
demonstrate, some showing real potential. When it’s the teacher’s turn, she
does just fine with one bean bag, but struggles with two, to the delight of the
children.
“Now just do what I say,” prompts
Mr. Wilcox. “You have to focus.”
She tries and catches one
successfully; but much to her embarrassment, the second bean bag flies out of
her hand and lands on the floor
At the end of his session, he takes
a few moments to talk to the students.
“I want to tell you something,” he
says in a serious tone of voice. “Always listen to your teacher. Let me repeat
that! Always listen to your teacher!”
“Ah, Thank you Mr. Wilcox,” the
teacher whispers without moving her lips. “Yes!”
Okay,
I’ll admit to being the uncoordinated elementary school teacher. There were
really three motives for inviting Mr. Wilcox for a juggling demonstration: he
was entertaining; he convinced some students to try the art as a way of
improving their reading skills; and he totally supported what I was trying to
do in the classroom by encouraging the kids to listen to their teacher!
Mr. Wilcox has been deceased for
several years, and now I’m the retired one. Although I have never taken up
juggling, his admonition to listen impacted me and has proven to be a good life
lesson, especially during these years when my hearing capability is
diminishing.
During a recent hearing evaluation
by an audiologist, I found myself listening more intently than ever before.
After all, who wants to fail a hearing test? It was an interesting experience
that involved sitting in a glassed-in, sound-proof chamber and listening to a
variety of noises through a headset, while the audiologist sat outside the
chamber, also wearing a headset.
One segment involved my repeating
words which she read from a list in a normal speaking voice, while covering her
mouth so that I couldn’t see her lips moving. As the test progressed, she
lowered her voice until finally it was just a whisper. Although I was listening
intently, it was much more difficult to distinguish her words.
Another segment of the test was
listening to a series of beeps, first in one ear and then in the other. Every
time the beeps were heard, the response was to be “yes.” The beeps went from
high to low, loud to soft. There were long periods of silence when I wanted to
say “yes,” but wasn’t quite sure I was hearing anything—except maybe some
buzzing in my ears!
The most challenging part of the
comprehensive test was when the sound of wind was played in the background,
along with the beeps. It started as a breeze and ended up as a gale, drowning
out all other noises!
Even though suspected, the results
of the test were definitive, showing some hearing loss in both ears. It was
advised that hearing aids would help in conversations with others and in
connecting with the outside world.
Jesus often gave the command to listen
when speaking to His disciples and the crowds of people around him. He wanted
them to listen, not only with their ears, but also with their hearts. If they
listened, truly listened, their lives would be changed forever.
Are
we honing our ability to listen to the Lord? He is speaking!
“The Jews gathered around him
saying, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense. If you are the Christ, tell us
plainly.’ Jesus answered, ‘I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles
I do in my Father’s name speak for me, but you do not believe in me because you
are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow
me.’” John 10:
24-26 NIV
Comments
Post a Comment