I hear and understand...

Deuteronomy 12:28

Observe and hear all these words which I command thee, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee for ever, when thou doest that which is good and right in the sight of the Lord thy God.

Matthew 15:10

And He called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand

I am the parent of a young child and there are times that I think I talk to a tree stump.

"Put on your socks." We are trying to get out of the house on a Sunday morning.
And get to church on time. It is a losing battle.
I look at the small person who roams our house. His toes are shining.
"Put on your socks." This time I point to where there are two white socks haphazardly flung on the bed.

I check the coffee pot. There is just enough left for me to have one more chug. No matter how early I get up, we seem to run behind. Might as well take the time to finish up the coffee as I hunt for my shoes. I finally have one on, and locate the other one squished beneath a big plastic dump truck.

"Do you have on your socks?" Silence. Then a small voice announces, "I'm doing it."
That means, no he doesn't have on socks. I take off my shoes and go the bedroom. He is sitting on the edge of the bed, looking out the window.

Finally, I nab his socks and put them on his cold feet. "I told you to put on your socks. Now go get your boots and put them on. Now." I follow him out of the bedroom. He walks right past his boots. Where is he going?!

"Put on your boots."
He finally finds his pocket knife and slips it in his pocket. "Can I wear a hat, Mom?"
"No, I want you to put on your boots so we can leave." I finally pick up his boots and glare at him. He gets the message and puts his boots on.

By the time we three get in the truck to go to church, I am thanking God that He knew what he was doing when he only blessed us with one offspring.  I have used my allotted 25,000 words per day to remind Gage (what seems like) 10 times to shower and dry, 10 times to put on his clothes, 10 times to brush his teeth, 10 times to put on his socks and boots,

He heard me tell him every time. What he wasn't doing was listening. There is vast difference, and I didn't realize how huge that difference was until I had a child. I am having to teach him to actually listen. Stop. Concentrate. Listen. Understand. Process the information. React. Do.

Then I realize something very important. How many times during the course of the day do I hear and not process? I hear a song over and over and never stop to listen to the words. I read an article over and over and just remember the highlights. I need to stop. I need to concentrate. I need to listen. I need to understand. I need to process. I need to react and do.

Not only do I need to listen in my daily life with my family, friends and acquaintances, I need to transfer that skill to my spiritual life as well. Just how many times do I hear God's word...but do I really listen to what He has to say? Does He have to tell me 10 times and then shake my socks in front of my eyes to get my attention?

I don't want Him to think He is talking to a tree stump. I want to be able to listen. To actually be able to put into action what is told and revealed to me. Through the noise of the world, my desire is to understand the heart of God.