That's why I deleted my post. It was in response to the question of how we can get God to talk to us like He does to others. I tried to be sensitive to the spirit/Spirit of the discussion. When there was no response for several days, it occurred to me that perhaps I had overstepped the boundaries of this thread and that what I had written had come across as "advising or coaching", or worse, proselytizing. My only desire is to be a conduit for God's love and light. My post failed to do that, so I deleted it. Self got in the way and cried ouch...probably for feeling unlistened to and unheard.

Eagle,
I always look forward to your input. Like you, I've lost many
friends & family recently, people I loved dearly. And my brother
is seriously ill. I love your wisdom and kindness. So please
don't stop posting. Could it be that all your pain in losing loved ones, has made you overly sensitive? Generally, in everyday life, I'm easily hurt. But on BWS I don't seem to let stuff get to me like it does in my everyday comings and goings. Please don't think you stop the flow of what's being said. It isn't that way at all. But many of us R extremely busy; it takes a lot of time to read every thread and every post. Most days I only have time to scan. So please be patient with us and let your wonderful understanding excuse our humanness, if we step on out of line! lol...
Prayers & blessings,

Eagle,
I always listen when you post something. I like to learn from
people with a heart. And I can feel your spirit and heart.
I've been floundering lately because I've had a lot of garbage
to deal with. And it's heartbreaking garbage, to boot! I like to
draw on the spiritual strength of those I admire! And I admire
you! I just didn't get to this thread until today! That's all!
Prayers and blessings,

And, you were. I caught your post before you deleted it and it offered much to reflect upon:

"For listening is the act of entering the skin of the other and wearing it for a time as if it were our own."

You were sharing a spiritual journey, which is what the Faith section is about. The nature of the topic also allowed for reflection from what is shared more than immediate participation in general. Do you have the post saved in order that the thread could pick up from where it left off?

It seems that there's a lesson God is trying to teach me, perhaps something about humility...it seems that for my entire life I've had to beg to be heard...but the irony is that once you beg for any gift, it's no longer a gift, is it? Begging someone to listen is somewhat paradoxical because once you've begged for it, there's always the nagging question of whether it's freely given or obligation, so then it's no longer the gift you were really yearning for. What I really yearn for and have yearned for my entire life is to be heard without having to ask for it. I can't help but see the spiritual implications of that. Some would say that being pure Love, He yearns for nothing...and that to imply that He does is to paint Him in the colours of our own human neediness and imperfections. And yet, I have to wonder if He too enjoys being listened to without having to ask for it.

My pride has taken a beating here, because this has probably come across as yet again begging to be heard and it wasn't my conscious intent to display my neediness for all to witness. I can hear Jesus chuckling in the distance. He's clearly not finished with me yet, is He...I suppose that's a good sign.

The deleted post:

There's a scripture verse that's perhaps one of the shortest, yet for me, one of the most powerful: "Be still and know that I am God". It would seem that God speaks to people in many ways, through many venues...it seems that He finds whatever way best suits the ears and eyes of the person He's trying to reach...music, books, scripture, other people...virtually everything is at His beck and call to use to woo us into His presence and into deeper relationship. In our busy lives, we just often don't take the time to truly "be still", but even more problematic, IMO, we often cannot fathom that God Almighty would even WANT to speak with us, so we tend to not believe that that teeny tiny "voice" in the back of our minds is His.

My rule of thumb, and it's not everyone's, but it works for me, is that anything that speaks love, edification, peace and abundant life is God trying to get through to me. Sometimes it comes through other people, sometimes it comes from nature, sometimes it comes in the form of that very quiet voice in the back of my mind...I do listen to it. Sometimes it's my own voice speaking stuff to me, sometimes it's the voices from the past - whenever the message is one of guilt, judgement, demoralization or diminishing in any way, I know it's not God's voice. God's voice ALWAYS speaks love, and always furthers my understanding of mercy, love and compassion. That's been my experience. I've learned to shoo away anything else, no matter who it comes from, no matter how "big" or renowned the preacher might be. The more I listen, the more time I spend "being still and KNOWING that He is God", the more I grow in my understanding and acceptance that God loves me, and that He only wants to speak love to my heart. Anything else that disturbs my spirit or demeans me in any way is (IMO) not from Him. It works for me.

Being open to being surprised helps. We tend to box God into the Scriptures and think that He can't say anything new. He's the Master Creator...anyone who is creative knows that creativity is evolutionary and urges you to constantly find new ways to express what it is you want to say. Why not the same with God. Why wouldn't He want to find new and creative ways to speak Love to our hearts - He has a lot of background noise to wade through to get to our ears, He has to find creative ways to reach us these days.

He has a sense of humour. Once you tap into that, and believe that He might actually love you enough to want to be in delightful dialogue with you, everything becomes possible.

It is still a gift if we look at it from the perspective of the giver than the receiver. Then we cast the doubts aside and let nature take its course. Glad to see the post again, Eagle.

Some things -
1. I often feel I'm left unanswered. You are not alone. I've learn to 'let it go.' I think it comes from not being heard all my life, just like you. I've come to a point of not caring --- not in regards to the people involved, but about a negative effect/affect. It's something that has to be learned, indeed... 'cause it cerainly didn't come to me naturally or without effort. I like what EW said about it being a good way to journal... heaven help us if BWS disappears and those of us who don't journal in a book have nothing to look back to.
2. Sometimes I feel too dumb to reply or follow a post. Another thing I need to learn to get over. I shouldn't care if what I have to say comes across uneducated, weird, ugly, etc... but sometimes I worry.
3. Sometimes I only have time enough to see if an question I posed was answered. Even when I try, they sometimes get covered up. I hate that time is getting shorter... I so want to be here all the time, but it just isn't feasible, practical or healthy.
4. Just because we don't get replies, we shouldn't silence ourselves. It might be that some day down the slope of time, the very words we post will help another survive a moment, a day, a week, a lifetime.
We love you eagle....

Gims, I get what you're saying about not caring, a lesson I keep having to learn over and over and over again. Caring about the people, but allowing others to be who, what and where they are while not allowing their actions to affect or define me, which is exactly my tendency, to interpret things to my own detriment instead of allowing others to just be other.

As for #2, for as long as we've been sharing together here, I've yet to see anything but inspiration, light, companionship and care in your posts. In fact, there are many times when I wait to hear what you have to say on a topic, because your responses are wise, witty and informative. I love how you research information for us here.

I understand the time constraints. My problem isn't time, it's mental clarity. Maybe it's the new AD's or allergies, or both, but my brain is quite foggy most of the time, which is why I play these silly games on Facebook, because they keep my brain active and stimulated.

#4, see, that's wisdom, Gims. I forget that sometimes our purpose is simply to plant seeds.

Helping others survive, IMO that's what this site is all about!
Eagle and each and everyone of you gals, may post just the
right phrase that helps me make it through a moment, a situation,
or a difficult time. Many of you have wonderful insight and I too
wish I had more time to spend here. But I have people in my
life who need me to be there for them. So my timeframe in here
is brief. Thanks for posting that post again, Eagle. Here's the
bull's-eye I was targeting: Dotsie said she actually hear's God
speaking to her at various times. I agree He speaks in non verbal
ways to everybody. But I've never actually, literally heard His
voice! For a very long time, now, I've wondered, if He speaks to others why doesn't He speak to me. The Bible says He treats everybody the same! He doesn't favor one person over another. That's what I'm wondering. Haven't any of you wondered that?