I shared some personal discouragements with someone the other day, only to have them present me with a long string of Bible verses, pat answers, and Christian clichés; it came so quick, that I wonder if the person was ever listening to begin with.

On another occasion, I was with a friend who disclosed to me a lot of their weaknesses and failures. They confessed faults that you would not expect from a person of such “spiritual stature.” There was no real resolve, or Christian “zinger” to make the story end well. Just an old-fashioned complaint, couched in real angst, almost permitting me to feel human. Imagine that.

I long for my conversations to look like the latter example. Sometimes they don’t. There are a lot of ways to “bless” someone into a deeper grief; I am beginning to realize more and more that what I crave most in difficult times is two-fold: a listener, and a safe environment to be real.

How about you?

SOURCE: http://doctrineontap.com/2013/08/02/lessons-in-not-listening-pt-2/