I shall listen to you

"When you call to me and come and pray to me I shall listen to you." Je 29:11-12

"I remember that God continues making me and has hopes for me and desires that I keep growing in love until I love as completely as God loves." Loved by God

"God who loves us creates us" Principle and Foundation

These passages resonate with me today. The notion that God listens to me is of great comfort in that I know that my prayers are heard and that I am guided to those prayers by the same God who hears them. If I listen carefully, I can discern the kind of prayer that makes sense for me. This gives new meaning to the words and thoughts I pray, because I am reminded that God is truly listening and that I need to choose my prayers carefully, and always be of right mind (or at least aspire to be.)

The second quote reminds em that I can never love too much, that I can always grow in my love of self and others. I think about Paul's letter to the Corinthians in defining what love is, and I am reminded of how incredibly challenging it can be to love myself and others. The first descriptor Paul offers is "patience." One thing this last week and a half has taught me how to do is to slow down. I tend to want to speed up and go go go. The fact is that I am developing a new appreciation for the expression "Go slow to go fast." When I sit with the same prayers or bits of scriptures and seek the deeper meaning, I am truly reaching levels of valuable insight. Depth over breadth is at work. I understand the power of this truth.

The third quote is extremely powerful because it speaks to the ongoing nature of my creation. I am in the process of creation. I am being created every day. I am reborn and renewed on a daily basis, and that process is ongoing. I have the power of newness and possibility within me. This gives me tremendous personal power, to know that God is creating me every day. I can change, I can learn new things, I can grow, I can do anything. I am blessed in knowing this - it is incredibly edifying. I can stand up and say, "I count! I matter! I'm relevant - always! I'm here!"