Connecting Me to You

Communication is an incredible tool. Language being one such means. A way to take what begins as a thought or a feeling and then convey it in a meaningful way to another person. I can spend hours thinking about how to vocally express my thoughts...and still get it wrong.  

So think for a second what life would be like without spoken language. Language brings so many possibilities. Knowledge. Relation. Connection.

Just 2 weeks ago I was in the country of Honduras with a group from my church. Much of this time consisted of interaction with the (mostly) mothers and their kids in their communities, which many of us would call poverty stricken. We had a handful of translators on hand, which is always helpful, but there was still this lingering disconnect in me, desperately wishing I could have a (more) meaningful conversation with them. It was later that week when a guy from our group who is native to Guatemala and fluent in Spanish told us about a connection he made with a boy through just a few simple words in his familiar language. And that really got me thinking about the power of communication. I want that too. Must. Lean. More. Espanol.

Ahem. (subject change)

Now think for a second what life would be like if you could speak any language...but you couldn't hear.

I am deaf.

I can easily remind myself of this fact by pulling the cochlear implant connectors off the back of my head. Dead silence. No bone conduction. Not even the sound of my own voice.

 Yes, Jordan and I were watching mortal combat the movie

I should point out that I'm not complaining here. There's many times I feel gifted in being able to completely shut off any and all noise around me. I've definitely used this a time or two on a child-filled airplane. Can you imagine being at a concert with blaring music, twenty-thousand screaming fans, lasers lighting up the place, and....complete silence? It's like watching a movie in 1st person. All you feel is the bass pumping through your body. In a way, peaceful.

I've even had friends jokingly say, "Hey, someday when you're married you can make your wife stop talking any time you want!". The funny thing is, these guys are married. Seriously?

When I started losing my hearing at age 11, my family and friends started praying. I always believed healing would come one day, I just didn't know it would be surgical. I'm grateful to God, and indebted to the doctors and professionals who've given of themselves so that I can enjoy music, and stick my foot in my mouth repeatedly. If they could develop a surgical word-filter, that'd be great.

Hopefully this will inspire you to stop and think about what an amazing opportunity communication presents, and to choose your words wisely. I'm not supposed to hear anything. I'd love to chat with you about that sometime...