if i could talk to the animals... and God

My daddy spoke cow and my mama spoke cat and dog. Hugh Lofting’s character, Doctor Doolittle, was one of my childhood heros. Growing up on a farm allowed me to spend hours with all sorts of animals. I can speak cow, cat and dog fairly well but chicken and pig were more difficult to master. I am surrounded by friends and family who speak animal. Lisa, my friend and neighbor, speaks dog fluently. She suspects she may have been in the wrong line when souls were being handed out. My daughter Alison speaks dog, cat, and rabbit. Our farm partner and friend, Tim, speaks toad, hornet and butterfly. My friend Elizabeth can communicate with all animals. In order to speak a language, any language, you must listen with your heart. Most of us just listen with our ears.
At my church I am also surrounded by many different languages. Some of us speak Baptist, others Catholic, Presbyterian and Methodist. Some Church of God and other evangelical tongues blend with Congregational and Evangelical Reformed voices. All our voices have different accents, different emphases on a shared belief language. It can get pretty confusing and frustrating at times especially when we do not listen with our hearts. All of us have sound tracks that loop continuously as we listen to the voices of others. The trick to learning any language, even the language of the Holy, is to turn that loop off and listen not with our minds, not with our mouths set to respond, not with our ideas, but with our hearts.
I have been fascinated with the art of communication in spite of language lately. Celeste is driving Moldovan friends who do not speak English well to Charlotte for medical treatment. Their sharing is rich and vibrant heart to heart language that supercedes words. Emma Clair holds a horse’s head gently in her hands and they understand each other’s love. Tina tells me of her belief that she is being healed of her kidney disease because she believes the touch of evangelist Ernest Ainsley has special powers. Another friend, highly intuitive, has a special gift for feeling the feelings of others. Sometimes I wonder if speaking/talking/preaching/teaching gets in the way of our truly knowing one another.
What would worship be like if the preacher spoke heart language for five minutes, sat down and gave the congregation time to respond from their hearts? What would a visit to the doctor be like if the doctor, after giving the medical facts, spoke heart language and then listened for the patient’s response? How would our work change if we spoke heart language? How would we change if we spoke heart language?
Prayer is for me the heart language that I use to speak to God. I was always confused as a child by the notion the God knew what was in my heart already so why did I have to pray? Now I know why. God may know, but often I do not know what is in my heart until I offer my open heart to the Presence in prayer, the language God can speak with anyone. This kind of prayer is not limited by a belief system or proper language or special gifts or calling. It is one to one communing with the Love that called us into creation, that will sustain us if we but listen and speak with our hearts as we travel through our lives. This kind of communication with God and others brings the gifts of the Spirit..."But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control..." Galatians 6:22
Today I will speak heart language, be a praying animal, and pray for the fruits of the Spirit.