~ by Terry Walters
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
In 1963 our family moved from a small house on Smith Street
to a larger bi-level house my dad built right next door south.
Of all the houses on that block back then,
it is the only one still standing.
The kitchen was on the upper floor in the northwest
corner with a window over the sink on the north wall.
Standing there doing the dishes, one could
look out the north window and see through the backyards
of all the neighbors all the way to Moon St.,
which ran west all the way to the grade school.
One day my sister, Cinda, was doing the dishes
and I was behind her at the stairs
leading down to the back door.
She was talking to me and pretty much
handling all of the conversation.
Eventually, I got tired of listening and quietly
went down the steps and out the back door
and headed out through those backyards toward the school playground.
She told me later that it was really a strange feeling
to be talking to me there in the kitchen
yet seeing me out the window
as I walked away through the yards.
It took a few seconds for reality to sink in,
but she had been talking away to no one!
I wonder how God feels. He speaks through His word and
the people He calls to preach and teach His message.
But far too often we quit listening
long before He has finished speaking.
Like the various kinds of soils in the parable Jesus told,
we need to be very mindful of whom
we listen to and how well we listen.
His word is too important to let
the devil and his crowd take it away from us.
It is far more valuable than
anything the world has to offer.
Don't stop listening. Don't walk away from Him!
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we are so grateful that You have revealed
Yourself in the past and continue to do so.
Your Word is always fresh and new
when our hearts are receptive to hearing from You.
Help us to stay attentive to Your Word.
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