A few weeks ago, I called an old friend to wish her a happy birthday. It was the first time we had talked in years. I started asking about her world, but she wanted to heard about my world first. She asked about my family and my loves, my struggles and my joys, as if it were my birthday instead of hers. She laughed and sympathized and celebrated, and she didn’t do anything else—no interrupting, no advising, no problem solving. Here I am, weeks later, still savoring.
“Teach me to listen, O God, to those nearest me, my family, my friends, my co-workers. Help me to be aware that, no matter what words I hear, the message is, ‘Accept the person I am. Listen to me.’” John Veltri, SJ
“[B]e quick to listen, slow to speak. . . .” James 1:19