listening

In the past few weeks I have experienced some breakthrough in areas of my life where I was feeling very frustrated. As I was having lunch with a dear friend, and spiritual mom, she asked me what, if anything in particular, that I thought made the difference. There were a few things that I could think of, but one of the biggest was just that we got to connect with some people who I felt like really listened - and heard - our hearts. They offered suggestions here and there, but mostly they just listened, and I think that made me feel validated, and allowed me to gain a fresh perspective on certain situations.

It reminded me how very important listening is. Something Todd & I have learned as a couple over the years is how important it is for emotional well-being for spouses to communicate, but also to listen. I often just want Todd to hear my thoughts, my ideas, my struggles and not necessarily that I want him to fix things, or even necessarily give input, but just to hear me. There's a big difference between asking someone how they're doing, and hoping for the "great!" response, and moving on and actually sitting down and hearing their heart and appreciating whatever it is that is going on in their life.

I'm both thankful to have people in my life to hear me, as well as glad for a fresh reminder to strive to be a listener (not always easy for a 'wordy' person such as myself!!)