PHOTO: Mary van Balen
Pay attention, come to me; listen, and your soul will live.
Mid Morning Prayer (Terce) Isaiah 55:3
Isaiah’s words from today’s Liturgy of the Hours are short and to the point. Why does something as simple as “pay attention” need said, especially when the result is vitality of spirit? Many times my columns, articles, and blogs include references to being present to the moment. Writer, Don Murray, says writers have a few “themes” that provide a core for their works.
Being present to God in the moment is one of mine. Why write about it, coming at it from different directions over and over again? It resurfaces because as much as I know its importance, being faithful to its practice is difficult.
Attentiveness needs time to bear fruit, like planting a seed and watering it. The sprout does not appear immediately, but without water, it will not appear at all.
Lent calls us to attentiveness. God’s Spirit may lie quiet and unnoticed in our souls, like plants resting out of sight all winter long. Taking time to be with the Holy One in the stillness of our hearts, in quiet moments snatched from a busy day, nurtures Gods life in each of us and promises to bring it to bloom.
© 2011 Mary van Balen
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