hearing...

"It is more important for her to hear, than for me to finish speaking".  These were the words the Lord led me to this morning as I was praying for the day.  I have to pray each day for the patience of Him Who IS patience; for the compassion of Him Who IS compassion to fill me with patience and compassion toward grandma.  It is a struggle for me each and everyday to speak with g because she is hard of hearing and I have to repeat everything I say...which, after a few days of conversing like this, I feel like my mouth will fall off if I say one more word.
What I have come to realize over these past few years, is that it is not my sound that is hard for her to hear...so speaking louder doesn't help, though I continue to speak louder more for my sake than hers...it somehow makes ME feel better, like I am proving a point or something...yuk, Leslie...anyway, she can't make out the words because I say them so fast.  So, if I would just slow my speech and enunciate, I would repeat less.  Do I?  Nope.  Well, sometimes.  So this morning as I was praying for patience and compassion, my Friend, Jesus (do you know Him?) told me to slow down when speaking to her and you know what my immediate thought was? "It's hard to slow down!"  Then I hear, "what are you in a hurry for?" (bird chirping...heart softening...ears opening...mind receiving)..."it is more important for her to hear than for you to finish speaking".