Listen
Listen
Listen and hear my voice. Pay attention and hear what I say. (Isa. 28:23)
Becky set her purse and keys down on the table. It had been a long week with several disruptive students in her seventh-grade history classes. Grabbing a diet soda from the refrigerator, she looked at the chore list she had posted on the door for her fifteen-year-old daughter, Corrie. Nothing for that day had been checked off.
“Corrie?” Becky called crossly as she went upstairs. “Why haven’t you done your chores?”
Corrie was talking on the phone and didn’t hear Becky as she approached her room. “My mom and I don’t communicate at all,” Corrie said into the phone. “She’s busy all the time since she went back to work—she’s either at school, or when she’s home, she’s working on lesson plans or grading papers. About the only time we talk is when she’s telling me what to do.”
Becky stepped back and quietly walked back down the hall to her bedroom. She had always wanted to have a good relationship with her daughter, but between her work schedule and Corrie’s teenage mood swings, it had been difficult. She sank down in the chair and thought about the conversation she had overheard.
Lord, Becky prayed, Corrie’s right. I’ve been so intent on giving her to-do lists and telling her what to do and what not to do that I haven’t focused enough on listening to her. Please show me how to turn things around.
Teenagers are especially concerned with fairness, and if they feel their parents aren’t listening, they’re not likely to open up. If you’re having similar issues, pray for wisdom. Ask God to help you not only communicate your concerns but also listen well. Proverbs 1:5 says, “A wise man will listen and increase his learning.”