Paying Attention
Susan Yates
 February 17
For some time I have adopted the habit of choosing one character trait of our God to focus on each day. Usually I ask God to remind me of one first thing in the morning before I even get out of bed. Today I’ve been thinking about the fact that our God is an attentive God.
He pays attention to every detail. He notices when one sparrow falls; He numbers the hairs on my head; He forms us (and our children and grandchildren) in our mother’s womb; He knows all my thoughts. He reveals his attentiveness in every bit of creation from the most delicate flower to the funniest animal. When I contemplate His attentiveness, I find I experience more of His peace because I remember that there is nothing that He cannot see, nothing of which He is unaware. So surely He is aware of my concern for a relationship, a child, a decision. He is pure love and I can trust Him. He will not overlook anything.
In thinking about God’s attentiveness I’ve also been challenged in this Empty Nest season to consider my own attentiveness. A new book by Leighton Ford, The Attentive Life, is challenging me to be more attentive of who God is and what He is about; to take time to listen, to notice, to hear His whispers. For me this involves simplifying my life and providing space simply to be still.
One of my prayers for this New Year is, “Lord, show me what I am missing. Make me attentive to your whispers.” | 
