What I Heard with One Ear

The other day (4/29) I experimented once again by wearing an earplug in my left ear for an entire day so that I might see what it was like to be my little sister Chick (Alexis) (3), who can only hear out of one ear. Though somewhat easier in function than when I tried “My Little Sister’s Hands” I still found myself feeling the same slight agitation by the afternoon for I again knew the ability in which I lacked. The world of one ear seemed loud and quiet all at the same time. The background noise seemed much louder than someone talking to you. (Especially when they happened at the same time!) Like Abby, Chick knows no different. I know for a fact it’s hard to miss what you’ve never known.

My dad’s words on the experiment actually summed the whole thing up, in that he said the experience probably wasn’t quite as enlightening since I’d already done the first, (taping my fingers together) I did feel this to be true, though I don’t regret doing it. The truth was the most impacting part of the day came through a conversation I had with Lindsey (5). She and Joseph (4) noticed the earplugs and asked Betsy and I, why we were wearing them. We told them we wanted to see what it was like to be Chick. They then replied, “You don’t look like Chick?” We then answered and said, “No, we’re not trying to look like her,” and Lindsey suddenly answered with deep understanding, “Oh you want to see what it feels like to be her?” and we replied “Yes.”

I then sat down by her and we talked on other subjects for a few minutes before she turned to me and asked, “Did you ever try and see what it was like to be me when I was little?”

This question silenced me and hit me in a way in which I’m sure she wasn’t intending for it to. No I’ve never “tried” to be her in that way for she has no physical special need in which to “try”.  But this question begged my heart for a deeper answer and to consider that understanding someone’s needs is a lot different than, as Lindsey said, feeling.

How often do we stop at simply “understanding”? We go as far as understanding a situation in our head, the problems and possible solutions but never go deeper. We never enter in to feel. We give ourselves the excuse: What can I do? Or consider it too inconvenient to get disturbed about the things we see going on around us every day.

The Lord wants us to feel; to step outside of ourselves and our fears, to enter in and allow Him to share His heart with us. For something happens in that place of giveness and vulnerability. There is an intimate heavenly exchange that leaves you surprisingly not weaker but stronger.

Understanding a situation can be very helpful, but feeling a situation with the Father’s heart can change lives for eternity.