The Stubborn Ear

First chapter…Intro and Psalm…reference…First page vii through the complete
second paragraph page viii ending in…to take notice that a Christian listens and
does….
The Stubborn Ear
Rosemary Lee Potter
Be still and know that I am God.
Psalm 46:10
Nobody would ever call me still. I am usually neither quiet nor still.
My skill of mouth and mind, my energetic physical activities have been the basis of my various livelihoods---teaching school and swimming, writing, and particularly, speaking. While I slept maybe I was still. All the while I’ve certainly known that these verbal gifts were mine from God. That’s what I’ve always told people.
God apparently wanted glib me to rattle on and on. I thought, “Wasn’t I being paid for my lively ideas both in print and speeches? Wasn’t it God’s gift that I am a
faster listener than most of my friends speak to me? Hmmm!
Twenty years ago I began to learn differently. It was then that my conscious
Christian experience and human adventures gradually changed forever and I
began to develop a quieter mouth, a better ear, and calmer mind.
My new walk began in199, when my husband Bob of twenty-eight years was diagnosed with melanoma. The ensuing family anxiety and eventual loss of my dear mate, marshalled my attention to the meaning of Christian life. As events dramatically unfolded then through the following years, I grew deeply conscious
of God’s daily presence, His constant concern, and His guidance in all the matters
of living. I actually heard and saw answers to prayer. I became aware that I
would receive guidance, if I would only finally shut up and listen. I’d learn how
God wants me to occupy myself. I would never be the same.
This “stilling” memoir is a joyful sharing of what Christian life really is and what it can be for the Christian who gives over to constant praying and then,
Listens, paying close attention to God’s messages and instructions. It’s for
those believers who may be, as I was, noisily too caught up in life’s extremely unquiet busyness. It’s a witness to believers, an urgent invitation to stop all this
frenetic activity, to take notice that a Christian listens and does.
The read is also for those who do not yet believe. It is also for those who do not
yet believe. It is for those who are living each day frighteningly, confoundedly, open to dangerous temptation and drawn to and fro, convinced they are entirely on their
own. This story confirms that God is real, His love, promises, concern, and instruction everlasting ready, waiting only for our complete acceptance of Him and then attentive listening AND obedient following.