Making Time
I have been all over the country this week! In the past seven days I have been in Atlanta, Georgia, Bristol, Virginia, Houston, Texas and right now I am sitting in Phoenix, Arizona. Needless to say, I am tired!
As I stood in line for one of my flights I pulled my MP3 player out of my carry on bag ready to plug in and disappear from the world. While standing there I wound up chatting with a guy (I’ll call him Fred) and then sat next to him on the plane.
As we are chatting the conversation turned to our families and he shared with me some of the struggles he was having in his marriage. They were not out of the ordinary; I have spoken with hundreds of couples over the years who have dealt with similar issues, but to him they weren’t ordinary- they were real problems!
I hate to admit it, but my selfish side started to kick in. I had anticipated relaxing and listening to my music during the flight. I stared out the window for a moment as the conversation lulled, tempted not to say another word.
My internal battle didn’t last but a minute when I turned back to Fred and said, “So what do you think the answer is?” That is all it took to start the conversation up again. Over the next hour we talked and I shared with him some of the tough times my wife and I had been through over the years and the paths we’d taken to find positive solutions to those problems.
As we were getting off the plane I noticed a woman in front of us standing up holding a copy of the book “The Purpose Driven Life.” I asked, “Do you like the book?” She told me that she had just started it. I told her how much I enjoyed it thinking the conversation would end there. Suddenly she turned and said, “I didn’t mean to be eavesdropping, but I couldn’t help but overhear some of your conversation. Do you know any Christian Counselors in Phoenix?”
I told her about the website, http://www.findchristiancounselor.com/, gave her my card and told her, “If you can’t find one there, call me and I will do what I can through my resources to help you find one.”
As I exited the plane I thought to myself how much hinged on that one decision I had made while looking out the window of the airplane. To be honest I will probably never know what impact I had on Fred or that woman who was sitting in front of us. If nothing else, I did what I could to encourage them to stay on the right path.
It made me wonder how many times I had missed opportunities to reach out to someone because I was too busy, too tired, or just wanted to do what I wanted to do. All it took for me to encourage Fred was to make time to listen.
Galatians 6:10 says, “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” You don’t have to have a Bible scholar or a degreed counselor to do this; you just have to have the willingness to make time.
The next time someone reaches out to you, make time to listen to them. You will be amazed at how much it will mean to them and how good it will make you feel!
Johnny Walker is a Christian Counselor and the founder of Family Works Counseling. You can reach him at (770) 456-5547
As I stood in line for one of my flights I pulled my MP3 player out of my carry on bag ready to plug in and disappear from the world. While standing there I wound up chatting with a guy (I’ll call him Fred) and then sat next to him on the plane.
As we are chatting the conversation turned to our families and he shared with me some of the struggles he was having in his marriage. They were not out of the ordinary; I have spoken with hundreds of couples over the years who have dealt with similar issues, but to him they weren’t ordinary- they were real problems!
I hate to admit it, but my selfish side started to kick in. I had anticipated relaxing and listening to my music during the flight. I stared out the window for a moment as the conversation lulled, tempted not to say another word.
My internal battle didn’t last but a minute when I turned back to Fred and said, “So what do you think the answer is?” That is all it took to start the conversation up again. Over the next hour we talked and I shared with him some of the tough times my wife and I had been through over the years and the paths we’d taken to find positive solutions to those problems.
As we were getting off the plane I noticed a woman in front of us standing up holding a copy of the book “The Purpose Driven Life.” I asked, “Do you like the book?” She told me that she had just started it. I told her how much I enjoyed it thinking the conversation would end there. Suddenly she turned and said, “I didn’t mean to be eavesdropping, but I couldn’t help but overhear some of your conversation. Do you know any Christian Counselors in Phoenix?”
I told her about the website, http://www.findchristiancounselor.com/, gave her my card and told her, “If you can’t find one there, call me and I will do what I can through my resources to help you find one.”
As I exited the plane I thought to myself how much hinged on that one decision I had made while looking out the window of the airplane. To be honest I will probably never know what impact I had on Fred or that woman who was sitting in front of us. If nothing else, I did what I could to encourage them to stay on the right path.
It made me wonder how many times I had missed opportunities to reach out to someone because I was too busy, too tired, or just wanted to do what I wanted to do. All it took for me to encourage Fred was to make time to listen.
Galatians 6:10 says, “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” You don’t have to have a Bible scholar or a degreed counselor to do this; you just have to have the willingness to make time.
The next time someone reaches out to you, make time to listen to them. You will be amazed at how much it will mean to them and how good it will make you feel!
Johnny Walker is a Christian Counselor and the founder of Family Works Counseling. You can reach him at (770) 456-5547
posted by Johnny Walker at 9:33 PM
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