Tag: Patience

Perpetual Listener

Featured ~ Sowmya Gali ~ 1 Comment

Psalm 81: 8, 10-14

“Hear, O my people, and I will warn you – if you would but listen to me, O Israel!… I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it. But my people would not listen to me; Israel would not submit to me. So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices. If my people would but listen to me, if Israel would follow my ways, how quickly would I subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes!”

When you want to have a conversation with a friend or a loved one and decide to ring them, you would expect to know how they are and if anything, exciting has happened in their lives. You patiently listen to them: laughing if something funny occurred, grieve with them if something tragic occurred, encourage them if they are down and so on. When it is your turn to share, there is nothing wrong in expecting that they also would listen with the same eagerness about your welfare and sensational news that you might share. However, if the other person is not interested in your affairs, he/she might bid you good-bye. In several instances, you might find yourself becoming a perpetual listener as the person on the other end of the line is rambling on about their own affairs. You would feel disappointed that you weren’t heard. Now if such a thing seems to occur more frequently, you tend to conclude that the person on the other end just wants to be listened to! You might even avoid such people because you are growing tired of their stories and you are not given a chance to be heard.

There are instances that you are sharing something important but you are cut off because it is not as interesting as their topic, resulting in disappointment. You realize that you are not as important as you thought you were in that person’s life. Their affairs, their news, their troubles are of utmost importance and yours are least. In the third instance, there are people who pretend to listen to you but are not paying attention to what you are saying. You feel like you are talking to a wall. In all these instances, you are not heard! Suddenly, you feel so lonely and disappointed that you begin to wonder that if you matter at all to anyone. None to talk with and none interested in you can drive you to heartache.

I envisioned God in the same position – perpetual listener. He calls us and we answer. However, instead of listening to Him, we are rambling off about our problems, our sicknesses and dilemmas. God, in the kindness of His heart, listens to us. He then waits for us to stop talking so He could speak to us: give us the comfort that we are seeking, strengthen us when we are weak, encourage us when we are lowly and heal us when we are sick. He wishes to reveal His Word to us, hidden nuggets of wisdom from His truth. But we just don’t listen to what He has to say! We are too enamored about what is going on in our lives that we don’t have time to sit and listen intently to Him. As I came upon this scripture, I realized how many times I have rambled on and failed to listen to God. He is so eager to talk to us if only we would listen. In just five verses, the phrase, ‘listen to me’ has been quoted thrice. If only we listen, God has solutions to all our problems. When I as a human can get disappointed when I am not heard, how much more can God get disheartened when His people, whom He redeemed by paying a huge price, are not listening?

In Bethany, when Jesus visited Mary, Martha and Lazarus, Mary sat at His feet and listened. Martha complained to Jesus that her sister wasn’t helping her. However, Jesus replied Martha saying that Mary chose the most important thing and that will not be taken away from her.

Psalm 81 closes this way:

15. “Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him, and their punishment would last forever.

16. But you would be fed with the finest of wheat; with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

We must learn to listen to Jesus. We must practice listening to the sweet, still voice of Jesus when He speaks. We might not find solutions to our problems, and we certainly won’t have victory in our lives when we don’t listen to Jesus. God promised that our enemies’ imminent punishment would last forever and conversely, we would enjoy His best, if only we listen! Let us reform ourselves from ramblers to perpetual listeners.

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Doctor’s First Impressions

~ Sowmya Gali

Vandana was pleasantly surprised to see a younger man. Mr. Kumar must be in his late-thirties, she suspected. Dressed very casually in jeans and a polo shirt, he didn’t look like a man from a small village. If he was in the city, he would have been every bit a city-bred metropolitan man. Despite his spectacles which gave him a nerdy look, she found him handsome. Ensuring his kids were safe and close to him, he exuded certain warmth that she immediately felt she could trust him.

However, she still thought he could not have been the person she spoke on the phone a few weeks ago. Maybe he is the son of the man she actually spoke to. The older man sounded so father-like; genuine in his concern for the poor people of his community and quite informal while Mr. Kumar here seems to expect formalities. An annoyed look passed on his face when she mentioned that she was expecting an older man. She thought, maybe he got offended over her remark. She should apologize soon if she runs into this man every day making their encounters awkward. Besides, she agreed to stay in his bungalow for a few days until her living quarters are arranged near the hospital.

His children seemed to be well-behaved. She couldn’t even ask their names. They seemed to be in a hurry to go to school. The boy seemed to like her instantaneously with his big dark eyes that smiled when he smiled. There was some naughtiness hidden behind those eyes. Boys of that age usually tend to be a bit mischievous. However, the girl looked at her suspiciously. She must be a teenager – a young lady growing into a woman. She fondly remembered her younger days when she was about this girl’s age. Life was so different then. She wondered if all girls go through that awkward phase. She hoped to befriend them soon. Maybe their mother is amicable and she could have a female friend at last.

Mr. Kumar had a pleasant voice on the phone. Vandana felt she made an instant connection with the man when he shared his passion for the hospital and the people in his community. With several years treating trauma patients, Vandana grew tired of working with wounded soldiers. She wanted to work in a regular, rural hospital where there is a chance for her to improvise on the job. All the high-tech is good but sometimes basic, old-school methods seem to be the right answer in curing so many ailments. At the peak of her career, she quit the Army, despite climbing in rank from Medical Officer to Assistant Director of Medical Services. She moved around several cities working in large corporate hospitals to save up some funds. She wanted to open her own clinic but with the lack of sufficient funds, she tucked away that dream for post-retirement.

With the help of a good friend and colleague, she found this opening shortly after she quit the last corporate hospital. Besides, this place would give her the much-needed respite and anonymity that she wanted more than anything else. She hoped to be here as long as possible. Besides, her friend Pradham Singh will always have her back. She wondered what would have happened to her if not for Pradham. Both he and his wife, Sheetal had been wonderful friends these past three years.

Vandana noticed that Mr. Kumar was placing her suitcase and the duffel bag in the back of the jeep. He helped his boy climb into the back seat while his daughter declined his help. He came around, opened the door for Vandana to sit next to him and took the other duffel bag from her. He closed the door after making sure she was seated comfortably.

‘What a gentleman!’ Vandana thought, smiling to herself. She turned around to face the kids who were looking at her.

Vandana noticed Mr. Kumar tossing her second bag as well in the back before shutting that door. He walked to the driver side of the jeep and jumped in.

“Everyone buckled up?” he asked, raising his eyebrows at her.

Vandana quickly obeyed. Looking through the rear-view mirror, he carefully backed out of the parking spot.

“Dr. Mittur, the school is not that far. After dropping off the kids, we will be on our way. If you need to buy any things, there is a store that I can drop you off and pick you up in thirty minutes. It is on the way to school,” offered Prashanth.

“Thank you for the offer, Mr. Kumar. I’m sure I don’t need anything for now. I have enough supplies till I get rest of my things next week. By the way, how far is this town of yours,” she asked, pulling out her braid from underneath the seat belt.

**As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.