On occasion, my three and a half year old granddaughter will come spend the night with me. It is always a challenge to come up with interesting things for her to do, and one of our favorite pastimes is going to the pet store to see all of the animals.
The last time we went she was particularly intrigued by the “fishies”. So being the good grandma that I am, I decided to buy everything we would need to bring one of them home with us. It was my intent to create a bonding/learning experience and also to bless my granddaughter. Little did I know how wrong it would all go.
After inquiring of the salesperson as to what equipment we would need, we rounded up the bowl, gravel, food, fake plant and a fish. Alexis promptly named him Nemo—it seems that we’ve seen the movie a few times! Nemo was a beautiful little Beta fish, and I was sure he would be happy in his new home. How hard could it be—right? We got him home, prepared the bowl for him and put him in. Great! Easy! Alexis loved it and watched him in his new home for all of about 30 seconds. What else can we do Grandma?
You Don't Always Know All the Facts
The next morning we checked on Nemo; he didn’t look so good. I assured Alex that he was just getting used to his new home, but inside I knew something was amiss. Did I do something wrong? Did I miss a step? I went through all the information the salesperson had mentioned wondering where I had messed up. And then it hit me; maybe she didn’t tell me everything. Maybe I didn’t have all of the facts. (For instance, you have to de-chlorinate the water!) I lost Nemo. Not intentionally, of course, but because I thought I knew more than I really did. I thought I knew all that I needed to know.
The Importance of Listening instead of Always Speaking
As we meet with our mentees, it’s easy to think that we “get it”—that we know what to do or say. As they share information about a concern or circumstance we may formulate an idea or comment based on what we “know”. We can be absolutely wrong. Hopefully, the consequences of being wrong will not be as drastic as that for Nemo, but it should give us pause before we speak into a situation in someone else’s life. At best, we have brief moments of time together; it is likely that we don’t have all the facts.
James says, “…be quick to listen, slow to speak…” We must take the time to really listen to our mentees, and then take time before the LORD to find His heart and mind on a matter before we act. “We can gather our thoughts, but the LORD gives the right answer.” Prov. 16: 1 (NLT)
(written by Kim Collins)
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