Pay Attention

It took me too long to wake up. When I finally did a range of emotions flooded me in a split second. It wasn’t so much that I was asleep. But, I certainly snapped to in that moment. Every parent with young ones has been there. Maybe a couple times a week even. My girls were younger then and I had just put them to bed for the night. After our nightly routine of getting ready, prayers and blessings I made my way back to the couch in the living room for some necessary down time before heading to bed myself.

No, I didn’t fall asleep on the couch… this time. Instead, I sat on the couch and it took me 45 minutes to realize that Frozen was still playing on the TV. No offense intended against Ana and Elsa—Frozen is among my favorite Disney movies. But at this time in my life it was on constant repeat. Constant repeat. There was not one fiber of my being that needed more frozen wonderland in my life that night, of this I am sure.

45 minutes. I sat watching, listening, and taking in Frozen for 45 minutes. I didn’t want to watch 45 more seconds. But I nearly got through the rest of the film. Why? I wasn’t paying attention. Not in a “I was scrolling on my phone” way. I wasn’t reading a book and this was background. No, I was watching the kids movie. Again. For the umpteenth time. I was embarrassed. Then ashamed. Then angry. Then I couldn’t stop laughing. What was I doing?! I was watching, but it didn't register what I was doing.

Sound familiar?

How do you give your attention and focus away. Are you letting it be guided and manipulated by the the mindless media of the moment. Have you sat down to take a break, pulled out your phone, and looked up 45 minutes later wondering why you got sucked in so deep.

Don’t get me wrong. I love some mindless entertainment. I enjoy checking out from time to time. Videos and Memes that make me laugh are one of my favorite things to share with friends and family. But, man do I get sucked in more often that I’d like.

To what do you give your attention?

Jesus told His followers to Wake Up! Paul, in his closing remarks to the church at Corinth, reminds you and me to engage and keep alert.

I guess, today’s cup is my confession that I often fail at this. I loose focus. I get distracted. Or, more to the point, I focus on the wrong things. My girls don’t sit around in their Ana and Elsa dresses anymore. So I don’t catch my self still watching princess movies after they’ve gone to bed. Truth be told, I’m going to bed before my kids some days. But this much I know. Even though I don’t get caught continuing to watch Frozen, the same ailment still infects me. I still hit cruise control on my brain too often and fail to notice what I'm consuming.

Telling someone to pay attention is only slightly more effective than telling someone you are arguing with to calm down.

Paul Angone is an author who focuses on distraction and how to harness your focus. He has said “We used to live annoyed with distractions now, far too often, we live for our distractions.

So, today, I invite you to pray for the Spirit’s help in identifying where you invest your focus. How to move from distracted meandering through your day to intentional and purposeful faithfulness. Invest it because investments give a return. Focusing your mind, energy, and effort intentionally brings a return.

Sure, watch a Disney movie from time to time. Give yourself a break. Take a time out. But also take back your distracted time and invest it in something useful and helpful. Reclaim time and energy lost and give it away in love to someone else. Make your faith visible. Spread joy. Be kind.

It turns out, it is harder to see people who need your grace and goodness when you are too distracted to miss them. As Luther once said, “God doesn’t need your good works, but your neighbor does.”

Pray. Then write down a short list of things you want to focus on. Keep that list in front of you and lean in on living more intentionally.