Waterfalls mesmerize and fascinate. Their beauty and the power of the cascading water can hold my attention for the longest time. Bridal Veil Falls in Yosemite. The great falls of the Yellowstone River. Niagara Falls. The lovely falls of the Appalachians. And the little twelve-inch fall in our creek. They are soothing and beautiful to see.

Most of these waterfalls run over hard rock. The rushing water would soon wear away any soil. The rock does eventually erode but by an infinitesimal amount each year. The rock is so hard.

I have thought so many times that people are like the rock and the waterfall. When you are talking to someone, do you experience their undivided attention? Not always. Sometimes. Do your words seem to wash over them without penetrating their ears? In the same way, the water running over the rock and never penetrates it. All of us have tried at various times to have conversations with others and it was like talking to a “stone wall”. Our words were ignored or maybe heard. But the words did not penetrate their mind and certainly not their heart.

The words we spoke washed over their head and down to the ground making no difference and having no influence. They are hard as a rock. They did not take the words into themself.

Then there are conversations where the listener opens themself to hear. The spoken words fall on ready ears and enter the depths of a listener’s heart. Their heart is soft and tender, ready to hear. Their heart is like the dry ground, starved for a drink of water.

I don’t want to be like the rock, hearing words spoken from a person’s heart and disregarding those words. I desire to have ears that are ready to hear. Hear what my brothers and sisters need to say…but most of all what my Savior has to say…hear with my heart.

Can we become true listeners? Can we walk life’s road with ready ears and open hearts?