“Can You Hear Me?”

Recently my hearing has gotten worse. You may have noticed. My common responses are, ”What? …. you talking to me….I can’t hear you”. It can put a strain on relationships; it can at least be annoying for everyone….talk to Judy.  When I watch TV, I’m spending 80% of the time reading the subtitles……maybe I should just read a book. 

Well, today Judy and I went to pick up my new hearing aids. Early reports are positive …. after a few hours they seem to be working well. I can even sync my phone to the hearing aids…there’s much more to learn, but I’m excited.

Like so many things in life, we don’t often appreciate certain things until we start to lose them. For most of my life, my hearing has been good…I never really thought much about it. But if you can’t hear, you can get isolated…it’s difficult to  participate in conversations, you can feel “left out”. I found myself preferring to not make the extra effort in order to have a conversation …. not good. Some reports link loss of hearing to increasing the onset of dementia……yikes.

Spiritually I know that I need to “hear” the Lord; I need to listen to his word. Without hearing and listening and pondering the word of the Lord, I can quickly get in trouble. I can get separated from God…I can get isolated. I need to look for signs that I’m having trouble with my “spiritual hearing”. Am I peaceful or anxious ? Am I getting down at times…even depressed? How is my prayer time going? Am I loving those around me? Do I still fight against isolation due to Covid…looking to connect to friends and family as able? Am I happy… or sad?

Look for the signs. Get your “spiritual hearing” checked out… connect with your “spiritual audiometrist”… ie. maybe a good friend or priest or spiritual director. Be honest with them. You’ll feel better.

We live in a crazy time and we need to stay healthy and alert. So, get your physical body checked out, but also get your spiritual body…your soul checked out. And the next time you see me and say hello, there’s a very good chance that I’ll hear you and say hello…. wow, that’s very good news.