Seeing in a New Way – March 21, 1999
Wouldn’t it be marvelous if we could see into another person’s heart and know exactly how he feels? Instead of grappling with words and language to try to understand each other, we could simply read each other’s thoughts. Such dreams are the stuff of science fiction. No matter how well we think we know someone, we can really only guess at what another person feels.
But what if we stopped the next time we faced a misunderstanding and looked not at the words being spoken, but the feelings being felt? A boss who changed the way he listened to his employees soon found he was seeing an entirely different picture than when he heard only their words. It was their feelings that painted the problem most accurately.
In the same way, a mother who asked her children for a daily report of what they did at school discovered that she could participate more intimately in their lives if, instead, she asked what they felt. Suddenly, her children were pouring out events of the day that mattered most to them, rather than checking off a list of classes.
Perhaps it’s just a matter of seeing those we love in a new way. Imagine wearing special glasses that could allow you a glimpse into the souls of others—you could see their sorrow, their honest intentions, their struggle to do right long before you misjudged them by their words.
Such glasses don’t exist, but we can still give others the benefit of the doubt when communication lines get clogged with our imperfect language. We can imagine the best intentions in their hearts and picture them with love—the way God sees them.
Program #3631