Listening Deliberately

I recently got hearing aids, but I continued to miss a lot of my morning conversations over coffee with my wife. The hearing aids were working fine. The issues were that my wife is soft-spoken and, more important, that I was not focused on listening. There were too many distractions as I checked news headlines and read emails on my phone. I was missing out on the part of my day that I most cherish, not because I couldn’t hear but because I was not paying attention.

Similarly, the presence of and communion with the Holy Spirit is a gift that we should treasure. As today’s verse states, the Holy Spirit will keep us mindful of the teachings of Christ and is the source of peace that surpasses all understanding. However, when I am not focused on listening, I miss much. Perhaps the Holy Spirit is also soft-spoken. To learn from the Holy Spirit and discern our true path, we must be disciplined in eliminating distractions so that we can really listen.