Listen
We set aside regular times to listen to God both backward and forward.
Jesus listened to God in prayer to know his Father's will. We are also called to listen to God. We listen 'backward' by regularly interacting with God's Word—the Story and the Son. We also believe he speaks today through his Spirit in us and through creation. We spend time actively listening ‘forward' to hear what God is saying to us today.
From Josh (Hilltop, Tacoma)
Right from the first Sunday we came to a Soma Communities gathering, we resonated with the teaching about being family with each other and about serving and giving in our neighborhood. Still we wondered if we should dive in to Soma. One Saturday night my wife Leticia and I said, "God, we don’t want to do 'church shopping.' Tomorrow, please show us something." The next day we came to Soma's Sunday morning gathering. A girl stood up and shared a deeply personal story about how she was learning from the teaching that morning. Everything stopped, and people prayed for her. At that exact moment, Leticia and I felt like we were supposed to be a part of Soma.
After doing some reading and continuing to learn as part of Soma, we started to deal with some consumerism and selfishness in our lives. We wanted to move somewhere where we could really help the people in our neighborhood and live in community with others. We were thinking: we already own a house; we don’t have a ton of money; what should we do? We looked at a few houses, and then we started praying about this one house on Ainsworth: "God, would you just show us if this is the house you want us to be in?" Leticia began to see how we could make the house a home for us and others, and I kept visiting. Each time I walked in, I loved the house more and more, I loved the people on the street more and more. Now we are living in that house, sharing it with Kevin and together we’re sharing our lives with our neighbors.
From Stephanie (The Wedge, Tacoma)
Years ago, my husband Aaron and I were on a train from Spain to Italy. Aaron had a little Italian book. He was practicing his Italian and making me crack up by saying "I need to throw up!" and "You look sexy!" As we were laughing, we noticed there was a couple nearby who started to laugh and respond. I saw the lady's beautiful black hair, and I was just taken with her; I just loved her, right there. I felt like I should give the lady my barrettes. I said, "Oh, Lord, these barrettes are simple, bobby pins with fake diamonds, next to nothing." But I knew they would look beautiful in her hair. So I gave her the clips and we struck up a conversation with them in English. She told us to look her up when we got to Rome.
When we got to Rome, we only spent one or two days together, but it was a connection. It turned out she was an archaeologist, and she led us around, telling us about the houses that were built in the second century after Christ. I got to tell her that I knew that Christ she was talking about, and that He had totally changed my life. Later, I saw a beautiful cross in this shop when we visited a beautiful small town. At first, I thought that I would buy it and save it for my children that I didn't even have yet! Instead, I decided to give the cross to the woman we had met. I don't know where she is now, but I hope she still has the cross.
I really feel like God wanted me to listen to Him and meet her. I just think it's so amazing to be able to talk to God and get to follow His lead. When I was younger, I always felt like the kid in class who never wanted to raise their hand, like I'm really insecure with my words. Part of my emotional baggage from the past is that no one wanted to listen to me much. I know that God loves me and will listen to me always, even if my words are stumbling and all come out wrong.
From Teresa (Hilltop, Tacoma)
Last year, I was so stressed over money that I would wake up with panic attacks every night. I don't know if my husband knew that I would wait until all the other bills were paid before I would give God our "10%." Most of the time, it didn't happen.
In January, when I got our financial giving report, I was quite embarrassed. We were faithful in giving to our charities and to help others, but not to God and the church.
God got my attention at that moment, and I felt very convicted. I started tithing as soon as the paycheck was deposited into our account. The first time was hard, I have to admit. At first, I wondered if I made the right choice, but God let me know that it all was going to work out. I've made it a regular practice to pay tithes first-thing every payday. Somehow, we now have the funds to pay the rest of our bills. My focus isn't on money anymore. That is such a huge relief to me.
My biggest hope is that more and more people can have this same freedom.
