Are you talkin' to ME?

Over this past weekend, the drama group I belong to at my church presented a Mystery Dinner Theater. It was set in the 1930's era...a time of mobsters and thugs. The main characters were supposed to be Italian. So you can see how hilarity was on tap for sure! The people in Kaleidescope (our Drama Team) are nothing short of amazing. With not one of us having any Italian blood whatsoever, we surely pulled it off! These people make me laugh more than a person has a right to! The presentation over the weekend was no exception. One character, Tony Moretti, was Mobster personified! One of my favorite lines was Tony saying, "Are you talkin' to ME? Is he talkin to me, cause if he is talkin to me..." George, the man who played Tony did the part perfectly! I'm still thinking about the entire production and laughing! Today, as I was taking the two hour drive to see my daughter and son-in-law, I was thinking about the play and the line, "are you talkin' to ME?" just popped into my mind. Hmmmmm....I began to wonder. How often is someone 'talkin' to me' and I am only "half" listening? Or just not interested in what they are saying to me. Do I really listen? Am I making myself available to people who NEED me to listen? Then my thoughts went a little further ( you'll learn to follow my train of thought just like my family does...he he he!)...my other thought: Am I listening to the RIGHT people? More so, am I listening to the one that REALLY matters? Am I listening to God??? Am I hearing Him when He is trying to reach me? What if God said to us, "Are you talkin' to ME?" What if He got that same attitude when we were talking to Him? And HOW do we talk to HIM??? Are we demanding? Are we thankful? Are we rattling off our "prayers" like a grocery list or a list to Santa Claus? If that is the case, why WOULDN'T He ask if we were "talkin' to Him"? When people are talking to us and we only "half" listen, we are not only being disrespectful, we are taking a big risk. What if they are talking to us about something important? More importantly, what if WE are the only person they feel they CAN talk to? Many times, our selfish nature steps forward and we don't take the time to see what others need. You may just be the only "ear" a person can bend. Maybe it's just a "pet peeve" of mine, but what is so horrible about taking the time to listen? God does it ALL THE TIME!!! He listens to our every cry! But we can't take the time to listen to an elderly man who wants to talk about the weather because he has no one else to talk to? We can't take the time to tell a waitress that everything was good...including the service? We can't thank the guy at the gas station when we pay? Our society is always in a rush....aren't you thankful that God isn't like that!!! Maybe my blog today is more of a ramble...but I still hope it makes us ALL think twice! Who is talkin' to us? Who are we talkin' to? We are ALL talkin'.....now let's listen! May you all have a blessed day! Sooz