Listening for Advent
I have a problem with listening—to others, and even to myself, especially during busy seasons of life, such as Advent. It is so much easier to just rush on and get things done: so many things need to get done: it is Christmastime! In the Bible, the original word isn’t to listen, but the synonym “to hear.” And the idea of hearing is really closely connected to heeding—or obeying. When it comes to listening to God and the Bible, it is important to keep “hearing” closely together with “doing” (James 1:22), but when it comes to listening to others or ourselves, we are admonished to use discretion with what we hear (Proverbs 28:26).
I think this is where we can get off track with the whole “Listen to your heart” stuff: because while it is important to listen to our hearts, we are not told to obey our hearts. I have often become unbalanced in the other direction: if I am not supposed to obey my heart, then maybe I shouldn’t listen to it either. But our hearts (and our bodies as well) are really important gifts that God has given us—and part of what we need to live good, godly lives. Can we listen to our hearts without necessarily “following our heart”?
For this blog, I’ll define Listening to keep us on the same page: Listening is analyzing, digging into, and facing up to what you hear. Here are three ideas to listen to your heart in this Advent season:
• Listen to what breaks your heart
• Listen to what you put off doing
• Listen to what fills you with wonder and joy
(NOTE: sometimes you get to places where you actually can’t listen well, or have mental blocks and trauma in the way. That is why I suggest counseling to everyone. We all need some good therapy! Know when to ask for help, and when it isn’t just about this being a “busy season.”)
Listen to what breaks your heart
I often find myself grieving for a while before I realize it. It is hard for me to take the time to listen to what breaks my heart: I just live in a state of broken-heartedness, which isn’t healthy for anyone. There are many things that break my heart, and I am learning to take time to name them. Many of us have had a lot of losses this year—and just because other people have bigger losses, doesn’t mean we don’t feel them. It doesn’t make our grief invalid. Listen to what breaks your heart, name it, and cast it to the feet of Jesus.
2. Listen to what you put off doing
When someone close to me died, I remember grieving hard and not eating. When someone lovingly made me a meal and sat it in front of me, I almost choked on it. As I ate it, I realized it was because eating (to me) meant I was moving on with life. In a way, I was leaving them and letting them go (my friend who had died). I cried through the whole meal, but felt such release afterward.
Sometimes we put things off just because we are procrastinators. I am great at getting everything else done, except for that one thing I really have to do. The best way I’ve found to deal with my procrastination is to
• Identify WHAT it is I am putting off
• Identify WHY I don’t want to do it
Once I do this, it is harder to put it off, and I can normally find ways to make it more do-able. But sometimes, we put things off because we are grieving, and it is just hard to let one more thing go. It doesn’t have to be big, or even make sense: but listen to what you put off doing.
3. Listen to what fills you with wonder and joy
It is often hard to get to the wonder and joy until you’ve listened to the grief and hard things you’ve put off in your life. Besides regularly asking myself “How is my heart?” I try to ask “How can I add wonder to this day?” This question is hard to ask because who has the time? What mom, wife, missionary has the time to remember what they like, let alone what brings joy and wonder. If we can identify specific things, when is there time to put that into action? To spend time on ourselves? During Advent?
How many of us were surprised at the extra time during the Pandemic when we realized that going for a walk could bring such joy? Or making homemade bread (or any nice meal)? Wonder doesn’t have to be long or expensive, but it does often have to be intentional.
As we take the time to listen to our hearts, even in this busy time, and get down to the wonder, it gives us grace to ask others how their hearts are doing. It reminds us to listen for broken hearts, procrastination, and joy all around you, and hear it for what it really is, a call back to the heart of God.
This was originally written for sharing at my church for a Christmas tea right when we trasnsitioned back to the States, 8 months into the pandemic. Of course, it included many tears and joy. You can read that Here. I reworked it and submitted it to Velvet Ashes website for missionary ladies, but it wasn’t used this time, so now has a home here.