Listening when Someone talks

(My apologies in advance for hijacking Third Day's song for my illustration. LOL)

Tell me to slow down if you think
That the road that I'm on's goin' nowhere
Tell me to slow down if you know
That I'm goin' too fast for my own good.
Tell me to slow down
If the way is leadin' to a dead end
Tell me to slow down turn around
Let me change the way I'm goin'.

I would like to think someone would stop me before I crashed. I would like to think that there's someone who would care enough about me to step up to me and say "hey, slow down!" It's comforting to know that in most cases the person most likely to do that for me is DaHubby.

DaHubby has an uncanny ability to read situations and the people in them. He's constantly putting words to and making sense of my unending yet unspoken internal angst. It's like that when you say someone really *gets* you, ya know? LOL Like finishing my sentences.

Hindsight being what it is, I've learned that about 95% of the time I should have listened to him because the situation (in which he might be involved or just be observing) turned out exactly as he said it would.

Tell me to slow down if you see
That I'm runnin too fast in the wrong race.
Tell me to slow down if you think
That I can't keep up with my own pace.
Tell me to slow down 'cause you know
If there's ever any question
Tell me to slow down, turn around
Let me change my direction.

Not to minimize how valuable DaHubby's skill is to me, I was thinking how much God is even better than him at it! LOL So, when God send His "nudges" as I call them, why don't I listen to Him as often as I listen to DaHubby?

Prayer is funny that way. We pray for direction, for patience, for guidance, for strength but are we listening when God answers? Do we run off our laundry list of concerns but not take any time to just *sit* and *LISTEN*?

Do we ask God to come and change us, mold us, make us better but then don't take the time to hear what He has to say about how to DO it!?

Oh, I don't want to let go
Of all the things that I know
Are keepin me away from my life.
Oh, I don't want to slow down.
No, I don't want to look around,
But I can't seem to work it out,
So help me God.

Now, my life (especially with little ones) can be as crazy as the next person. My schedule's packed with ALL sorts of things (real and imagined) that I think need to be done. Repeatedly this week I heard people pray for help because they are letting their quiet time with God slip away into the hurried-ness of life. People (including myself) often just rush through our God time and check it off our to-do list. We punched our clock so God will be happy with us.

And, I got to thinking...how would our kids feel if we just punch a time clock with them? How would we feel if our spouse simply "clocked time" with us. More than once, DaHubby's teased me saying "hey, can you add ME to your to-do list?"

And, again, how much more must God feel when we just clock in with Him instead of spending serious time in His presence?

Be still, and know that I [am] God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! Psalms 46:10 NKJV

God WILL be exalted - are you gonna be there, waiting, listening when He is?