Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. James 1:19 NLT

I wrote this article a few years ago about listening in nursing home ministry, but it is just as applicable in other kinds of outreach and even within our own families (a good thought to carry as we plan on Thanksgiving gatherings!)

When my wife and I were learning Portuguese, from our friends at the Brazilian church where we served on staff, we had to learn be quiet and pay attention as people spoke. One fun way we found was to join in during worship time. As others were singing around us, we tried our best, a tiny bit at a time to join them with our own voices. Then, little by little, as we increased our vocabulary and improved our dreadful accents, we were able to enter into conversations with our friends.

I have discovered that same kind of listening is important in nursing home ministry. It does little good and sometimes much harm, to simply come in with all of my own ideas of what I think people need to hear. Life in long-term care, whether it is assisted living, memory care or a traditional skilled nursing facility is entirely different from living in the outside world. Just as when we were learning Portuguese, it is hard for most of us to be quiet long enough to hear what people are saying. In spite of the fact that we have two ears and one mouth, most of us find that talking is far easier than listening! But only listening long enough to know the hearts of others, will teach us how to share the message of the love of Jesus Christ in a language that they can understand. So, lets close our mouths tighter and open our ears wider and ask God to help us to listen. And most of all, remember that our God, the Great Creator, the Almighty, the all-knowing Eternal God, stoops low to listen to our prayers!