The whisper of WOW.
“When we are stunned into a place beyond words, we’re finally starting to get somewhere. ”
Do you recall a moment where you just knew something? A thought or message stops you in your tracks. Something previously foggy becomes crystal clear. Or perhaps it’s a new thought. Something you hadn’t previously considered. A truth comes through.
Maybe you don't know it consciously, but something about that moment seers your soul. Jolted, moved, impacted. Maybe you don't realize the clarity of the moment at the time, but in retrospect, it's crystal clear.
And maybe you work really hard to deny this truth. You convince yourself it's not a message for you. Easily rationalizing over and around this deep truth.
Moments like this are defining. They make us say WOW! Sometimes it's a WOW! that's in awe of love, the beauty of life. And others times it's a disappointed, shocked WOW! Sometimes for sure, it's a damn it, WOW!
Listen to the message that startles your soul. Listen to the WOW! The jolt that makes it clear you better listen up. These moments are life steering. Deep defining messages. Gifts hidden. Freedom waiting.
Perhaps it's hard to discern why you feel jolted or what that message means. Okay so you sit with it. You whisper a prayer "help me to know...to discern" and helpers arrive on the scene. Maybe in two hours or in two months the answer arrives. You commit to wait.
Or maybe you are desiring a message, a sign, a signal about what's next. Maybe you fall asleep each night asking God for a sign, for a helper. These can be times of frustration and impatience. The message in that moment may be, "not yet". And so that's a "WOW! I need to listen, I need to sit with this, I need to wait". And so you wait. You watch. You listen.
Sometimes these moments come from a comment directed at you that really ticks you off (this has happened to me). "How dare they say that?" You feel injured, shaken, offended. These are the moments that beg you to listen. They are a revealing mirror reflecting truth. Maybe the message comes as you are witnessing the beauty of nature or the wonder of your children. Maybe it comes when you are on your knees crippled in despair.
These are moments that give you a push. In these beautiful, revealing moments ask God what you can learn. Ask life what it's trying to teach you. Then listen for the answer. Wait until it comes. Don't clank around creating noise with a luster of activity so loud you cannot hear the message.
Sit. And. Listen.
I am learning so much about this lately. When life hands me something that makes me say WOW, are you serious? I know it's time to listen. I struggle to listen. I actually hate it, at times. Because I prefer to tell life things. I think maybe God forgot something. I chase after saying...."but wait a minute...it was supposed to be that way....what about this idea?" And then I stop and listen. I learn. I'm humbled.
Ethan's life and his medical course asked me to listen. Too often I kept talking. One of the gifts that I have uncovered in his death is the call to listen. To say WOW, really? And then to wait for the answer.
Open your ears, don't deny your deepest knowing. Make space. Invite in the discomfort. Consider the message made just for you. Breathe it in. Feel peace.
You are here on this earth to love and be loved. You were created out of great love. Your soul, your being is eternally intertwined with you Creator. Listen. Learn. Become a student. Grow into a more beautiful, purposeful you.
