We live in a culture of seemingly constant, unremitting distractions not withstanding smart phones and other rapidly evolving technology. This is so much so that being distracted is the new normal. As a result, we accommodate non-stop distractions by embracing short attention spans. We experience discomfort if any task takes more than a brief encounter. Along the way have we lost the habit of being attentive? Do we have what Asbury University professor, Daniel Strait, identifies as a diminished capacity to see beyond ourselves.

Dan Strait writes in the November 2016 issue of Word & Deed, “We are called to ‘behold,’ ‘look,’ ‘witness,’ and ‘see’ God’s presence in our midst. Isaiah 43:19 calls us to live in the expectation of God now, at this moment, in the place where I stand: ‘I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert’ (NRSV). Often we don’t perceive it, and, just as often, perhaps, we don’t expect anything new, not even at the start of a new year.”

He calls for a recovery of attentiveness and for a recognition of the difference between attentiveness and “attending to.”  In our attentiveness, there is always more to see, learn, and know and yet always mystery, discovery, and light. A good place to begin the New Year is with attentiveness with expectancy to the presence and provisions of God in our daily lives. The Psalmist declares (Psalm 40:5), “Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to count.” The Apostle Paul (Ephesians 3:18) prays we might grasp the magnitude (how wide and long and high and deep) is the love of God, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge” (knowledge of the heart).

Here’s the call at the beginning of a New Year: “Wake up! Look! See! Pay far more attention to God and others! Make it a habit! Stop slacking off! Do something about your inattentiveness! There’s more about life in Christ than you’re seeing! Cultivate an appreciation for the wonder and grace right in front of you that makes possible a profound love for God and one’s neighbor.  Instead of a New Year’s resolution, consider praying a prayer for attentiveness:

 Open my eyes, that I may see 
glimpses of truth thou hast for me;
place in my hands the wonderful key
that shall unclasp and set me free.
Silently now I wait for thee,
ready, my God, thy will to see.
Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine! 

Happiest and Attentive New Year!