I love those who love me,
and those who seek me diligently find me.
Proverbs 8:17ย 

 

The Art of Paying Attention

 

She walks each day at least 3 times
maybe more
with or without the dog

 

through countryside and to the river
with ease
she sits under an apple tree

 

sometimes she spies the horse or cow
sometimes itโ€™s just the rustling
of leaves somehow

 

that causes her to stop and ponder
look to the sky
and hear each word He whispers
to her.

 

~Marcell Warner Bridges
ยฉ1 July 2018
For: N.T.J.

 

 

I want to learn this art of stopping to smell the flowers like she does, this woman I love so very much.

 

 

I wish I knew her secret. But then again, I do know her secret. I just donโ€™t know how to stop and pay attention like she does.

 

Oh she has learned. She has learned this art of believing that everything holds a message from God if we will just trust Him with all our hearts. She has taught herself through prayer and wonder how to incline her ear to our Lord above.

I donโ€™t get out into nature much. Every few months I travel to the mountains for their grandeur to speak to me somehow. And even then, I donโ€™t always stop to spend time with Him.

 

Itโ€™s funny how we can allow things in our lives to keep us from enjoying all God has given us. Like allergies, insects, and animals that we are afraid to find. My neighborhood, this place Iโ€™ve lived in for 23 years, is the quietest place most of the time and I could probably walk safely among its roads if it werenโ€™t for the dogs that run freeโ€”chasing me.

 

Iโ€™m just a โ€˜fraidy-catโ€™ of life I guess.

 

Iโ€™ve become a solitary, sedentary, placement on a couch. I spend my days amusing myself with things that I should (and maybe could) go without. Never spending enough time to open my ear and listen–to recline and incline myself–to whatever He may be saying.

 

I long for peace and quiet but when I get it I donโ€™t deny this: I usually forget to pray my prayers or find a little heaven in that moment.

 

 

 

Next week Iโ€™ll be at the beach. I wonder. What will He have for me to see? What will I hear? What will I write? Will I find time to stop, pay attention, and listen for His whispers? Or will I get too caught up in the adventure?

How about you? No matter where you are or what you are doing, will you stop too? I hope you do.

 

From My Heart to Yours,
Marcie

 

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