Sometimes we cry out, but we just don't feel like we are being heard

Thursday afternoon I was home playing with Gracie before I had to go back to church for evening meetings. We were playing outside on a little slide one of our church members had given to us. Earlier I had taken the slide part off the plastic unit and had not yet put it back together. Gracie took the slide, leaned it up against the plastic stairs of the unit, and was playing until it fell while she was on it. I started to put it back together (the way it was supposed to be!) and she began to cry. I asked her what was wrong but with her crying and talking at the same time I could not understand her.

I asked her to stop crying and use her words. I told her I couldn't hear her - meaning I could not hear her over the sounds of her crying. She looked at me and said, 'I'm crying loudly so you can hear me.' Of course I could hear the crying! I wanted to her to use her words to explain what she was unhappy about.

I thought about this later that evening. I think sometimes we all have a tendency to cry louder hoping someone will hear us, notice us, understand what the problem is and fix it. We fail to understand that we have to use our words. We have to say what it is that is bothering us in a way that others will understand. We want someone to know what is causing our pain. But if we don't speak clearly, in a way that someone can understand, and we only 'cry' louder, we aren't really communicating effectively.

Sometimes it is hard to use our words. We fear what someone might say back to us or how they will react. And so we don't say anything of real substance. We just, 'cry' louder hoping someone will fix the problem.

It is fascinating watching Gracie as she grows and realizing the lessons she is teaching me about life in general. There are times when I need to use my words and speak more clearly and cry less loudly. I pray that God will help me to do so.