Hearing Voices

Forgive me for staying on the topic of hearing another week.  I have been struggling with a faulty hearing aid that needed to be returned, and ultimately replaced.  This brings me to another fun fact about me.  Everyone's voice changes whenever I have a new hearing aid.  What?

If you remember a couple weeks ago, I described my natural ears as "mute" without the help of hearing aids.  I don't really know what things sound like without them.  Hearing aids are great, but they are artificially set up by the hearing aid technician.  The way things sound depends on the setting of the hearing aid, and every hearing aid has a slightly different sound.  This week, I walked out of the hearing aid shop, and walked into a creepy parallel world from The Twilight Zone, where everyone looks the same, but sounds completely different.  It's unnerving to try to learn people's voices every few years.  People wonder why I don't recognize voices on the phone, or celebrities in animated films.  Actually, I do recognize one celebrity voice.  Captain Kirk (William Shatner) has a very recognizable voice.  It's funny that he is the one I can pick out.  I think it has more to do with the cadence of his speech.  Not sure what I am talking about?  Click the link for a YouTube sample Captain Kirk's Constitutional Speech.

One person's voice never changes.  I have heard His voice the same way since I became a believer.  This is the voice of Jesus who speaks directly to my spirit (my heart).  I am His sheep.  Consider a verse I posted last week.  "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish.  No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else.  No one can snatch from the Father's hand.  The Father and I are one." ~John 10:27-30 (NLT)

It doesn't matter that you sound funny to me.  God speaks to me in a way that I never fail to hear and know.  I could have the whole world on "mute" and I would still hear His voice.   You can hear Him too, if you would follow Him and become one of His sheep.  

(One last hearing aid fact: the newest models have a preprogrammed voice that speaks into my ear.  The hearing aid technicians can program the voice that speaks.  I chose the male british voice (smile).   No one else can hear the voice in my head.  He's my private reminder that I need batteries.  Imagine my disappointment when today, the voice in my ear spoke in a plain American accent!)

Have a great week, and listen for the voice of Jesus.  

Following the Rabbit (or was that Rabbi?)

Recently, I posted about what the world sounds like for me (A Silent World).  What I didn't mention was the humor behind my hearing loss.  I often misunderstood things that were spoken to me.  For example, I grew up thinking that things that were a short distance away was just "a hop, skip and a bump away."  I always imagined the person giving a hip bump.  Funny, right?  It wasn't until I went to college that I learned what the phrase really was.  Jump makes so much more sense than bump!

I tell this story to give you a sense of how I interpret words I hear. Sometimes I lip read to help understand, and sometimes I rely on context clues to determine what words were said. I was listening to Tim and Pam on the WBGL morning show a couple weeks back, and I was captivated by a story Pam was telling. She asked Tim if he had a rabbit he followed. He wasn't sure what she was getting at.  I listened to her describe her dear older pastorly neighbor who challenged her to grow spiritually. She said everyone needs a rabbit to follow.

By this time I am imagining a greyhound race, where the dogs chase after the mechanical rabbit. The rabbit is said to spur them to run faster than they would without it. I thought that was a neat allegory and thought about the people in my life. I have a rabbit I follow that challenges me to get into the scriptures and grow closer in my walk with God. Without my rabbit, I would not be as far along in this race.  I am very grateful for my rabbit.

I looked up the phrase "follow the rabbit" and found... Nothing.  Chasing rabbits is the phrase and it doesn't mean anything like what I imagined.

I think she was talking about modern rabbi's and following them like students and their teachers! I guess that makes more sense.  Smile!

"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me." (John 10:27 NLT)

Resolute Man of Steel

The movie Man of Steel was released to Blu-Ray recently and I was able to watch it today.  I must admit, that movie is not my favorite of all the Superman movies, but still compelling, namely due to the incredible scoring of the movie.

I would like to focus on the character of Superman.  He had some identity issues as a young person, but eventually learned to accept his role as a beacon of hope for the people of earth.  The word I would use to describe him would be resolute.  Let's take a minute and review the definition of resolute: admirably purposeful, determined and unwavering.  This was a man who knew what he needed to do to save the humans, and did it without fail.  Do you know anyone like this?

Jesus Christ was this resolute man.  He knew the fate he had before him, and resolved himself to fulfill that purpose.  We read in the gospels that he did not want to proceed with what he knew was to come.  Just read what Luke's recollection of Jesus's prayer:

'"Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me.  Yet I want your will to be done, not mine."  Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him.  He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.' ~Luke 22:42-44 (NLT)

Jesus knew just how much suffering and agony he was about to go through.  I believe the anticipation of pain is often just as bad or worse than the pain itself.  Think about the horror our children have when they have to go for their vaccination shots.  Jesus knew the tremendous pain, suffering and humiliation he was about to go through.  He knew he would die slowly and painfully.  He was in agony as he pleaded with God.  

And, yet, he resolutely went to the cross and died for us.

As Christians, we need to remember the level of resolution that Christ had.  As we go out into our daily world, we need to keep that single purpose the God had for us.  

"Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil.  He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.  Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith.  Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are." ~1Peter 5:8-9 (NLT)

Overcoming Fear

Batman Begins was released in 2005, but still captivates me.  This is a storyline articulating how the Batman came to be.  Batman has always been a darker superhero, and one with no superpowers.  He is the ultimate vigilante.  But how does a person become a superhero?

This movie discusses that it was fear that motivated Bruce Wayne.  Fear that he desperately wanted to overcome.  As a child, Bruce fell into a well, broke his arm, and was overcome by bats.  Bats terrified him ever since.  As an adult, he would experience paralyzing nightmares.  Shortly after this fall, Bruce watched his parents get murdered on the streets.  He grew up angry, fearful and alone.

Bruce resolved to face his fears head-on.  He trained to avenge his parents' murder.  When attempting to develop an alter ego, he remembered his old fear of bats.  When asked by Alfred, his faithful butler and caretaker, "Why bats, sir?", he simply says, "Bats frighten me.  It's time my enemies share my dread."  He chose to use what still frightens him for his strength.

How many times does God help us with our paralyzing fears?  There are many examples of people who had fear in the Bible.  I'd like to focus on David, who wrote about fear so much in the Psalms.  Every time David experienced fear, he also remembered his God, and called on him in faith.  God would provide comfort and strength for David when he needed it.

I have experienced fear that has been powerful enough to affect my decisions.  When I was little, I was afraid of a neighborhood dog, so much that I found other ways to go home.  Today I have a different fear.  I am painfully shy, so much that I would avoid social situations if I could.  However, in my job, in my life, it is not allowable to be hidden in a retreat, so I face my fears and smile.  God has given me strength to teach children, and later to teach their teachers.  I found the strength to deliver training to my adult peers.  God gave me the gift of teaching.  I still struggle to be social in social gatherings, but God makes sure there is at least one friendly person in the mix I can talk with.

What fears do you have that God can (or has) help you overcome?  I'd love to hear your examples.  In the meantime, experience these words of comfort from David.

The Lord is my light and my salvation -

so why should I be afraid?

The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger,

so why should I tremble?

When evil people come to devour me,

when my enemies and foes attack me,

they will stumble and fall.

Though a mighty army surrounds me,

my heart will not be afraid.

Even if I am attacked,

I will remain confident.

Wait patiently for the Lord.

Be brave and courageous.

Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.

~Psalm 27:1-3, 14 (NLT)

A Silent World

Falling snow is very peaceful.  I love to sit at a window and watch the flakes come down.  This is one thing I did long ago as a young girl before I know the world had sound.

I am hearing impaired. My level of hearing loss in both ears is equated to pushing the "mute" button on the remote control of a television set.  In fact, the latest version of hearing aids have this feature on the remote controls.  I have been known to silently push "mute" during a particularly long-winded speech (shh! don't tell).

I love that I can control the noise of the world.  When life gets a little overwhelming, I can turn a switch and retreat into my own quiet space.  This is the best way to sleep, too.  I have little difficulty falling asleep and almost never wake up in the night.  It is a gift.

When I was younger, my hearing aids were more prominent, and less effective at hearing the world.  I was often ridiculed and mocked for my funny "deaf accent" and pronounced loud breathing (that I can't hear).  I often wished that I could wake up some day and not have to put on the hearing aids to hear.

I became a believer at age 19 and was introduced to the charismatic gifts of the Spirit.  I thought God wanted to heal me.  I prayed for healing so many times, and found myself disappointed that He did not heal me.  I thought I didn't have enough faith.  I thought my sins were too great.

Now, I know the hearing loss is God's gift to me.  Even though there are sounds I miss, and movies I have to wait to see when it can be closed-captioned, I would not trade the benefits of peaceful quiet I can have at the click of a button.  I just would like to know how I can use this gift for the purposes of His ministry.

"God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts.  Use them well to serve one another."  ~1Peter 4:10 (NLT)

I plan to post about movies again, but am waiting for the good ones to come out on Blu-Ray, so I can close-caption them.