Wednesday March 10 – Day 22 – IN HOPE: CAN YOU HEAR ME?

Wednesday March 10 – Day 22 – IN HOPE: CAN YOU HEAR ME?

“But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord,
    I wait for God my Saviour;
    my God will hear me.” – Micah 7:7 (NIV)

There is nothing more frustrating that NOT being heard.

Whether it is in a classroom where the teacher fails to pick us when we have our hands held high in the air to answer a question that we actually know, or not getting a response from someone that we respect on social media, not being heard is frustrating.  I apologize in advance for the long story but I think it is worth sharing.

Like many people my age, I grew up seeing and loving Monty Python.  As a Beatles’ fan, I remember hearing about this television show called The Rutles, which was a parody documentary on the life of the Beatles, and wanted to watch it.  I waited until the night it was first aired.  I asked my parents if I could watch it on the main TV in the front room and began to set up a portable microphone and recorded the audio of the show onto a cassette.  Little did I know that it would become one of my favourite comedy films of all time.  The next day, which I believe was during March Break 1978, my mum and I drove to Hamilton to Eastgate Square and we found the soundtrack in the Robinsons’ music section.  In a transaction that included me getting a hair cut, my Mum’s part of the deal was to buy me the album.  I LOVED the soundtrack so much that the album was played more often than all of my Beatles’ records in my room in 1978.

Fast forward to 2018 (June 30 to be exact) and a post on Twitter sent by a woman known as “@embearpark” to Eric Idle (the writer and creator of the show who was a member of Monty Python) and to James Cordon, the creator of Carpool Karaoke and famous night show host.  She replied to a post that someone had made that would suggest how cool it would be for Eric Idle to feature in a Carpool Karaoke driving in the UK singing a famous song from a Monty Python sketch.  I then responded to everyone in the tweet and said, “I would even be interested in Eric doing an episode of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee!”.

Then, the unthinkable happened.

You have to understand that on my Twitter account, I would post many things but then NO ONE WOULD RESPOND.  I have to thank Jackie Scott for being one of the only people to respond to any of my tweets.  So, I expected to make the Tweet, only to let it fade into the silence that is my Twitter account.

But then, yes, the unthinkable happened.

Eric Idle responded to my tweet.

He said, “Can I have tea?”

Now, you would think as a tea drinker that my mind was blown by THAT kind of response.  To be honest, the fact that THE Eric Idle responded to my tweet was mind blowing enough.

But my mind was blown in a different way.

In the Rutles’ show, they talk about the substance that was introduced to them by Bob Dylan and had a huge affect on their music…

Tea.

The Beatles of course had experimented with a drug that is now legal in Canada, but for the Rutles, it was tea.

So I ran with referring to one of the lines that Eric’s character, Dirk McQuickly, used when asked if he had tried tea.

My response to Eric was:  “Plenty of tea…and biscuits!! :)”

Now, at this point I am freaking out that THE Eric Idle is responding to me on Twitter when no one except Jackie seems to see my tweets.

Then things really got intense.

I then receive yet ANOTHER response from Eric. And this time, he was following my train of thought:

“Dirk liked that”

BOOM! My mind is now COMPLETELY blown by this exchange.  I tell everyone in the house what is going on and then I log on to Facebook and post the following:  “Ok I am geeking out on Twitter as THE Eric Idle is responding to my tweets!!!!! Keep me sane here, Facebook friends!!!”

I then go scrambling through my old cassettes looking for my Rutles tape that I made back in 1978, find it and then take a photo to post it and show Eric. I mean, NOW that I have his attention, I might as well make the MOST of it!

I then respond to Eric.

“What’s not to like? Dirk had great taste. 🙂 (and can I just say thank you for the Rutles?)”

I thought it was appropriate to thank him for a project that has given me years and years of enjoyment.

His response?  “Probably my favourite gig”

Ok, at this point I am planning what we will make for him when he and his fly over from the UK to Canada to visit like old friends. Again, I am freaking out. Finally, I share with him the photo of the cassette and how the 13 year-old me fell in love with the Rutles – here is the photo:

 

https://twitter.com/cclause/status/1013096000620122113/photo/1

Our twitter discussion ended with Eric “liking” my photo, as well as the woman who started the original tweet.  I was worried I had geeked him out but in the end it didn’t matter.  Do you know why?

Because in a social media format that I go usually go unnoticed, Eric Idle HEARD me.

He HEARD me, and he responded to my tweets!

How often do we pray to God and we think He hasn’t been listening because we don’t get what we ask for?

The truth is, God hears. He knows what you are facing and the difficulties you are dealing with.  He knows how hard the pandemic has been on you, and He longs to comfort you with his unfailing love.

The question I pose to all of us is this:  Are we truly hearing God?

Are we taking the time we need to listen to His still small voice?

We need to shut the outside world off, go into a room by ourselves and pray these words:  “Lord, open my ears that I may hear You today”.

I will admit I have never HEARD the voice of God but I have heard His movement in my life.

God uses people and events to respond.  However if I am not open to looking for these signs I will ignore them and miss the blessing.

It is simple as praying these words, over and over:  “Lord, open my ears that I may hear You today”.

And you will be surprised by joy:  the joy of knowing and loving God, and being heard by Him.

It is not a mere platitude when I say that God loves you so much.  He wants you to know Him, and He wants to be involved in your journey on this earth.

So if you have ever prayed the prayer, “God, can You hear me?”, rest assured that He can and He does.  Be prepared to await His response, and prayerfully invite God to speak to your heart.  Prepare to have your minds and hearts blown by His response, from the God of the universe who holds you in such high esteem.  Never doubt or forget how much He does love you!

See you tomorrow, church!