Sometimes a friend gives you a huge gift, but it isn’t decked out with ribbons and fancy paper. The friend may simply sit quietly and listen carefully to your every word.
Too bad the gift of undivided attention is becoming increasingly rare in a day when so many are twittering, tweeting and yakking on cellphones when they’re out with friends.
A parent can attest it’s impossible to listen attentively to every babbling word that comes from a toddler. Still, constantly tuning a child out sends an unspoken message: “You’re not important enough for me to listen to you.”
How often we send this very message to God!
We may be in such a rush to get out of the house in the mornings that our prayers are dashed off in a few seconds, or postponed entirely. In my own case, I marvel at how much time I spend putting on make-up, exercising and dressing, and how little goes to God.
I’ll get to him later, I assure myself, but then as the day wears on, the to-do list grows ever longer. Run to the bank and the grocery store, and then head home to sweep the floor, get the laundry going, answer email -- and, oh yes, check Facebook multiple times.
When evening rolls around, my eyes start growing heavy, and I remember my earlier promise about turning my thoughts to God. And then I realize the blinding light of the obvious.
It’s time to put God on my to-do list as the new year unfolds.
Clearly, other things threaten to crowd him out, like brewing the coffee, reading the paper and making the beds. These habits are formed over many years, and somehow we manage to fold them into our daily lives.
Many will protest there just isn’t time to make prayer a habit, too, but this statement seems crushingly insulting to God.
It’s kind of like admitting, “My calendar has no room for my spouse” or “I’m too busy for my kids.”
There’s an old saying that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. And it’s often true that we make time for people who send frequent emails and call us on the phone.
God won’t push himself on us though. He’s quiet and still, and always there. The prophet Elijah sought God in the drama of wind, fire and earthquakes, but finally heard him in silence.
To hear God’s still, small voice means crossing some distractions off our list. Maybe that means one less TV show or one less shopping expedition.
Maybe it’s been years since we’ve given God our full attention, but the biblical story of the prodigal son underscores how God welcomes sinners back with open arms.
The really good news is this: God’s love truly does endure forever -- and even if we forget him at times, he’ll never cross us off his list.
Lorraine Murray's most recent books are "Death of a Liturgist," a comical mystery, and "The Abbess of Andalusia," a biography of Southern writer Flannery O'Connor. Her email is lorrainevmurray@yahoo.com.
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