There I found myself—sitting on a plane between a Catholic priest and a Protestant minister, each eagerly speaking over me to the other in a conversation spanning various facets of theology and their modern-day application. Since the minister in question was my husband, I was more tolerant of this intrusion upon my solitude. 

As Steve said, "We were one rabbi short of a joke there."

Steve and I were on our way to the NACC, a convention where people from the Restoration Movement (independent Christian churches and churches of Christ) gather from across the country to worship, encourage, and learn from one another. As we settled onto the plane, we watched people board and make their way down the aisle. One man about our age (who was a doppelgänger of Seth Rogan) happened to have on a priest collar and was making his way to our row. After some maneuvering and getting help from the flight attendant when his seat belt was jammed under the seat (she pulled up the seat cushion—those can be used as a flotation device!), the priest apologized for all the commotion next to me and introduced himself to the two of us. Steve admitted his ordained minister status in the exchange, and the priest's eyes lit up. There was not a moment of silence from that moment onward. I sat back and listened. 

The priest's enthusiasm was palpable as he asked Steve's Protestant perspective on various forms of religious thought and practice. He was also excited about his recent return from Rome, where he lived just outside of Vatican City. He is another year from full ordination. What a fascinating story he has—he had worked as a lawyer and was engaged to be married at age 27 when he felt called to leave it all to become a priest. Everything about his life changed. 

Devotion to God comes in many forms, and having grown up Protestant myself, I haven't interacted with many priests. This man's entire life and religious practices are different than my own. Yet his love of God was winsome and contagious. As unexpected as the situation was, and as over-my-head their conversation got at some points, I am thankful for the experience. It's yet another reminder I've had lately of how much more we have in common with people than we have differences. 

Photo of Notre Dame by my amazing husband, Steve Carr @2017

I currently have 2 windows and 33 tabs open in my web browser. This is the most I've ever left open at once. While some of them are open for research references, most are articles awaiting for me to peruse. There are way too many good things to read that I don't have time to sit and contemplate right now.

And now I'm getting distracted from creating something for church because I'm saving more tabbed articles for later. I'm way off track. Procrastination.

Back to the task at hand!

P.S. I know your time is precious with tons of other options out there for you to read. So thanks for spending a few moments here with me. 

Listening is one of my favorite hobbies. I’m not even kidding. I love stories, and everyone has a story.

I tend to ask questions of others. Sometimes the conversations eke along slowly when their answers are short or people are reserved and don’t want to talk much about themselves. But I like it when I figure out that one topic when people’s faces suddenly light up. I see that I’ve unearthed their passion. “Tell me more.” Then I get a deluge of great new stories.

I am fascinated to hear about other people’s interests. I may have zero skills in gardening, preparing taxes, raising farm animals, or restoring cars—but if you are excited to tell me about it, I’m game to learn!

Most interesting to me is people’s backgrounds. I want to hear where you’re from, what your family dynamic is, where you’ve traveled, who you’ve met, what job experiences you’ve had. I love hearing about the things that have shaped you—how God has molded you into you.

I want to extol the virtues of this important piece of our daily communication. I want to encourage everyone to listen well and listen more.

Listening is giving someone a gift. You are offering people your time and attention. You are indicating that you value what they say. You demonstrate that you care about them as individuals created in the image of God. Can listening really do all of that? Indeed.

When you have something important to say, when you need to get something off your chest, when you need advice, when you have great news to share—how good does it feel when someone is really listening to you? When you are truly heard, you feel validated and valued. When you listen, you offer those gifts to others. 

Listening to others helps you understand them better. You will never fully grasp what it is like inside another person’s mind and heart, but the gift of listening can offer a glimpse. How can you reach out to others unless you know their needs? The way you’ll find out is by asking and listening. 

Try ministering with your ears this week. Listen to your family. Listen to your friends. Listen to strangers you just met. Listen with the goal of connecting and caring and showing the love of Jesus.

It can start with three simple words: “Tell me more.”