He Listens to You, Too

"and a little child shall lead them." (Isaiah 11:6)

Jimmy had had over a hundred blood tests. His fingers were swollen and sore. He was understandably reluctant to have any more. At the age of eight it is hard to see any value in something that hurts so much.

Each day as we sat in the car waiting for him to muster courage enough to climb the steps to the pathology lab, I would tell him to ask Jesus to make him brave. After prayer he always found the courage to go in on his own two feet.

One morning he was particularly reluctant. I suggested prayer, but he said, "No, Mumma, ’cause if I ask him, he’ll do it, and I don’t want them to stick me again."

"I guess I’ll have to ask Jesus for you, Jimmy."

"Mumma, that isn’t fair! He listens to you, too."

We sat there awhile until finally Jimmy looked up and grinned through his tears. "Come on, Mumma. He did it anyway." He opened the car door and marched up the stairs to the lab. Jesus had done it again.

In the weeks that followed I often had cause to remember those words, "He listens to you, too." As I watched him die, and prayed for it to be fast and easy, those words proved true. He did listen to me.  

Grief sometimes chased the thought from my mind. Where was God? I felt abandoned and angry, and I suffered actual physical pain. I didn’t think a Christian should feel those things, and guilt piled upon guilt until I was unable to pray. I was totally bereft.

One day as I told a friend the story of the blood tests, Jimmy’s little voice rang clear in my memory. "He listens to you, too." Right there, I stopped, and I prayed ... and Jesus did it again.

Jimmy was only eight years old, but he taught me the most important lesson of my life. I’ll never forget again ... he listens to me, too.

Beyond the Door
1. Read Isaiah 11:1–9, to see the context of the Bible verse "and a little child shall lead them." These verses present a beautiful picture of peace and nurture, as people and nature live together, without enmity, in God’s "Peaceable Kingdom." Jimmy got a view of that peaceable kingdom early. Has a child ever blessed you with an insight, as Jimmy did for his mother here? Reflect on that experience. Share it with a friend, if you’d like.

2. Listening isn’t always easy for us human beings — we’re pretty busy talking. Often we need to be reminded to listen. To listen because God is calling. Recall the last time you really listened.

3. How could you make time in your life to listen to a child who is special to you? How do you think that such listening would make the child feel?

4. How do you feel when someone really listens to you? Try this week to give a friend or family member the gift of really listening.