August 5 – Learning to Listen

Pastor Mike opens with a confession that reframes the whole conversation: people tell him he's a good listener, and he's quick to admit he isn't one by nature — it's a skill he had to acquire, partly because not listening once cost him dearly, and partly through the slow work of God, the program, and the steps. He and Corey dig into what real listening asks of us: setting expectations aside instead of deciding we already know someone's point, remembering that a reaction doesn't have to become a response, and the humbling truth that God often speaks through the very people we'd least expect — even the ones we don't much like. Corey brings his old sponsor Doug's hard-won wisdom, that there isn't enough time in a life to make every mistake yourself, so you'd better start learning from other people's. It lands on Proverbs' contrast between the fool who's right in his own eyes and the wise who listen to counsel, and the reminder that what we take in — the music, the media, the algorithms — quietly shapes the mind over time.

The stone for today: Wisdom grows when I stop insisting on my own way and become willing to learn from others.

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Learning to listen | wise counsel over first instinct | reaction versus response | Christian recovery | 12-step faith | God in unexpected people | guarding your thought life | Big Book study | sobriety devotional | addiction recovery

Daily Ripples is a daily devotional reflection connecting recovery principles with the life of faith. New episodes every day at dailyripples.com.