He that hath ears, let him hear
My husband and I were having a conversation today. Let me correct that--we were TRYING to have a conversation today. Most of my contribution was, 'What?" and, "Honey, you've got to speak up, I can't hear you!"
You see, I'm hard of hearing. I have been since birth. Coping was always okay, sort of, because I depended on my parents for my life. Although there was a lot of frustration from me and my folks, at least I knew I had a roof over my head, food in my stomach, and clothes on my back.
Doc has said that my hearing would decline even more over the years. I didn't realize that time would be so soon, though. I find myself growing anxious over the future. What future is there for a hard of hearing woman, who doesn't have any skills that doesn't require hearing?
This is where the rubber meets the road. Before this, I could talk a good talk about having my dependency on God. Did I, though? Or was my dependency in my ability and my husband's ability to make a paycheck? I scanned the internet for stories of deaf/hard of hearing people getting jobs. Most of what I found were the deaf/hard of hearing sharing their horror stories of being discriminated against. I'm ashamed to admit this, but I think my 'dependency on God" might've been not true. As long as I had some thread of hope to hold on to--and the hope was in my local connections, my ability; my, my, my something, I could claim to not be anxious, and claim a trust in God, like any good little Christian should.
But what about now? What about the fact that soon I might have to give up teaching in a public school, because I'm not what the students need? The students need to know that their teacher will hear them gasping for breath when an asthma attack breaks out. Their teacher will need to hear when the class bully is secretly terrorizing the timid child that rarely speaks. So, any administration in their right mind would let me go. I wouldn't blame them.
So, do I really trust God, now? Now that I don't have any secret contacts to draw from--I have totally exhausted all of my human strengths... now do I trust God? What about you? Have you ever been on your last leg, no thread of hope anywhere, and have had no choice but to depend on God? Jesus walked step by step in dependency. He had no earthly job, although as a young boy we infer that he helped Joseph with carpentry. His very food he ate, the shoes on his feet, the place to bed down for the night--he depended on God for every bit of His livelihood. Can I? Can you?
That's one of the many wonderful things about God. He knows our faith falters--some more than others (mine!), but that doesn't worry Him. As God, He is able to grow us as we need growing, and He teaches us through concrete lessons, that He DOES care about our every being, no matter what. Our earth suits will continue to dry up and shrivel away due to illnesses, age or accident; but our spirits belong to God. In the end, we'll know that everything was worth it.
What are you going through? Are you having a 'rubber meets the road' type situation facing you, now? Has God showed you in times past that He indeed can be trusted? Do you know for sure that He loves you, no matter what? God has a habit of showing us little things to remind us of His love for us.
He loves you :-)
Blessings
Lisa
Labels: hard of hearing

11 Comments:
thanks for sharing
By
chrisbow, At
September 2, 2008 8:04 PM
Yes, I am. At this moment, we're wondering where the money is going to come from to pay this month's bills. Five months ago, I was terminated for objecting to my company's unethical practices. I am my family's wage earner, and in spite of an AGGRESSIVE search, have turned up nothing. Your comments hit home with me--yes, I've SAID I'm trusting God with this, but then, why am I still worrying?
By
kings_kid, At
September 7, 2008 12:44 PM
Hi Kings Kid. Welcome to the site :-)
I imagine what you're going through is VERY hard, and VERY stressful--welcome to humanity! They days ahead may present something totally unexpected for you and your family. I'm not talking about wealth or fame. I'm talking about having your things snatched out from under you because you couldn't pay the bills. I'm talking about having to go on government assistance for food and shelter. Doesn't sound too hot, does it? However, in the long run, it might be just what God ordered. The apostle Paul wound up in prison, John wound up in exile, and rumors are that other disciples wound up being crucified, some even upside down.
The "hall of faith" in Hebrews tells us of how some folks had 'good' things happen to them, but on the other hand, some were sawed in half, fed to animals, beaten, imprisoned, and the like. Yet, they all had one thing in common--their faith in God. I wish I could tell you that things will be fine, and that you'll live happily ever after. But, really, I can't since this is online communication. However, I CAN tell you this--consider the lilies of the field, they don't sew, but God provides. The birds in the trees, they don't have a job, but God provides.
Kings_Kid, I hope you'll be able to come back from time to time, and perhaps share little tidbits of blessings of how God got you through 'this time'. Maybe not make the whole jobless thing go away, but rather, more of how He made Himself known by providing 'little things' here and there.
Hang in there!
Lisa
By
Lisa, At
September 9, 2008 9:27 PM
Well, that previous comment didn't come out right. That's what I get for trying to have my brain multitask! So sorry!
Kings_Kid, What I MEANT to say, and left out the entire thought, was that maybe, when we're down on our last leg, that's when God can say, "okay, now he/she is ready to receive" So, when and IF you wind up going from bad to worse... that can definitely be a time for God to step in and remind us of how wonderful His love is for us. I suspect this setback you're in WON'T last forever, but in all honesty, I can't say, because I simply don't know. I know for me, there have been times that I've had no where to turn BUT God, and then I felt bad for 'using' Him as a 'last resort". Thankfully, as I learn more of God, and less of me, I realize that nothing I've thought, done, or felt took God by surprise. Not even 'using Him" as a last resort surprised God. Which, serves to remind me AGAIN how much He loves me! The love of God just simply knows no bounds!
Hope this clears up the post I muddled up earlier....Llisa
By
Lisa, At
September 9, 2008 9:46 PM
Thanks, Lisa, I knew what you were getting at with the first response. Been there. You have to realize that there is NOTHING to hold you up but the LORD, and sometimes it takes having all the other things stripped away before you can see that it is the LORD's provision. "Dear Lord, Please save me from this fire," we pray, then when a hook-n-ladder truck appears, we say, "Never mind, Lord, the Fire Department is here."
I do think you probably already know this. You have many skills that don't depend on your hearing. For instance, in my field, I worked with computers, and there were many heavily-accented people in the company. We communicated through voice, but we often had to supplement it with IM, e-mail, etc. In spite of the lack of verbal communications, we managed to be productive together.
I am sure that you have skills. One book I would recommend is "What Color is Your Parachute?" Even if you're working now, it would be helpful to you to complete the exercises in the book to see where you'd like to go NEXT. You will see that some doors are closed to you (who doesn't?), but you'll also be able to forget those doors, and go for the ones that are open.
Good luck to you.
By
kings_kid, At
September 13, 2008 10:54 PM
Hi Kings_Kid! So, dare I ask how things are going for you? Thank you for your kind response. How true the fire dept. example is!
Sometimes I wonder if I'm not down on my last leg of sanity. Working at school, I feel myself on a sinking raft, and wondering what's next? I think of the Apostle Peter when, as long as He kept his eyes on Jesus, he could walk on water. As soon as he stopped looking at Jesus, he began to sink.
Ironically enough, it seems my hearing isn't as much of a part of the shaky foundation as I thought. Sometimes i don't want to listen to the shrieks and the 'I'm the most important one in the classroom" personality of my students, so I can simply turn my hearing aids off. Not everyone has the luxury. Your recommendation of "What color is your parachute" sounds interesting.
I can appreciate the different accents in the workplace that you describe. I imagine that can be difficult. My parents (of students) and I are learning to utilize the IM and email and sometimes an interactive website to communicate, and so far, we're okay with that.
Hope things are working out better for you!
Lisa
By
Lisa, At
September 27, 2008 12:21 PM
This post has been removed by the author.
By
Lisa, At
September 27, 2008 12:21 PM
Hi Kings_Kid! So, dare I ask how things are going for you? Thank you for your kind response. How true the fire dept. example is!
Sometimes I wonder if I'm not down on my last leg of sanity. Working at school, I feel myself on a sinking raft, and wondering what's next? I think of the Apostle Peter when, as long as He kept his eyes on Jesus, he could walk on water. As soon as he stopped looking at Jesus, he began to sink.
Ironically enough, it seems my hearing isn't as much of a part of the shaky foundation as I thought. Sometimes i don't want to listen to the shrieks and the 'I'm the most important one in the classroom" personality of my students, so I can simply turn my hearing aids off. Not everyone has the luxury. Your recommendation of "What color is your parachute" sounds interesting.
I can appreciate the different accents in the workplace that you describe. I imagine that can be difficult. My parents (of students) and I are learning to utilize the IM and email and sometimes an interactive website to communicate, and so far, we're okay with that.
Hope things are working out better for you!
Lisa
By
Lisa, At
September 27, 2008 12:21 PM
Still looking...thanks for asking. I don't have anything relevant to add, except Psalms 37:3-9.
3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your ways to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.
6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as noonday.
7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret--it only causes harm.
9 For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the Lord, They shall inherit the earth.
By
kings_kid, At
October 7, 2008 4:26 PM
Hi Kings_Kid. What a wonderful reminder of God's provision. Although God has never promised us a thornless rose garden, so to speak, we do know, and probably can remember, other times when God has certainly had His hand in our lives.
When we come to the end of our sufficiency (as if we really had any to begin with) I believe that's when we can start noticing HIS sufficiency!
Blessings!
By
Lisa, At
October 10, 2008 11:30 PM
This post has been removed by the author.
By
Lisa, At
October 10, 2008 11:31 PM
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