FOOD
FOR THOUGHT
(10/11/2009)
CAN
YOU HEAR ME NOW?
Cindy Hong
Guilt-free
eating at the family restaurant means pitching in as needed. To escape
the foreign sounds of Toisanese flying around in the kitchen, I'll take
my loaded plate of steaming fried rice, pepper steak, and shrimp lobster
sauce to the cash register area. Between bites I'll grab the phone for
take-out orders and make change at the register. With the economy in Detroit
, every phone order counts. So I'm told to pounce on the phone as soon
as I hear it ring. The only problem is, I don't hear the rings like I
used to. The noises get in the way—the music playing in the dining area,
the food orders in the kitchen, the ice machine in the bar area. So I
find myself working extra hard, tying on an imaginary leash so I don't
wander from the phone, keeping a pen, pad, and menu in hand to write orders,
and forcing the daydreams from my head so that I can hear the ringing
phone. As hearing-challenged as I am getting to be physically, it seems
I've always been hearing-challenged spiritually. I don't naturally pay
attention to Him. My ears aren't automatically tuned to His voice. H It's
a classic case of selective hearing. In the midst of everything, God is
doing something. Do we hear Him? What is He saying during the happy and
sad times, during the tears, heartbreak, and losses? How can we cultivate
voice recognition through the noise? He is hardly silent, but perhaps
we need to be in order to hear Him. That no matter what we are going through,
He whispers to us, “Hold Me. Lean on Me. Breathe in Me. Rest in Me.
Let go. Let Me. I am with you. Always. I will not let go of you. My peace
is with you. My strength is yours. My grace is sufficient.” Even when
we don't understand why things happen and we want to challenge Him, He
is with us. His hand is big enough to hold our tears. His arms are wide
enough to hold us dear. And His strength is enough to keep us near. Lord,
help us to slow down and pause before You this week, help us to recognize
Your voice, and give us ears to hear You.
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