Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.’ (Luke 8:8 NIV)
I love exploring places and writing about them and during the last two years some editors have graciously published my work in their magazines. I have visited some amazing places – mainly in East Anglia – and have met some amazing people. If I stop to listen I hear some wonderful stories and God has a way of setting up divine appointments.
In a country lane an elderly lady straightened up from her weeding and chatted over the hedge. She told me about her home and how it was once a pub called ‘The Bell’.
In Norwich market I met Malcolm Snelling, who has been selling fresh fish there for 55 years. He had some stories to tell! In a Norfolk town I even prayed with a retired butcher who had Parkinson's disease. People in my village also love to talk about their memories. There's Tom, who saw a German plane crash in a field on his farm. Later he found the pilot's brown leather shoes (they fitted him perfectly). There’s Margaret, with wispy white hair, who sang on stage with Val Doonican; and there's Eric, whose dad was a blacksmith and preacher who was buried with his Bible.
Closer to home, my mum told me how her grandfather trapped sparrows to feed his hungry family, and sometimes she talks of her beloved brother, killed by touching an unexploded bomb. There's a saying: when an old person dies a library burns to the ground. In fact, each of us has a unique story to tell if we’re given the time to tell it.
Jesus always had time for people. From the trembling woman who cautiously touched his clothes to the father desperately worried about his child. Nowhere in the Gospels does he ever say, 'I'm a bit busy at the moment.'
Whoever we are, whether young or old, we all long to be listened to. Let someone know that their words are valued today.
Today's blog was written by Angie Jones.
Find out more about her and support her chosen charity here.
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