Consistent Intention

A couple of months ago, life got loud.

Not in a bad way. In fact, most of the projects were labors of love, and some of the opportunities that came my way exceeded anything I had imagined or prayed for.

But I've learned that even answered prayers can get loud once the rest of the world gets involved. Deadlines. Budgets. Other people's expectations. Unexpected flu bugs. Wars and rumors of wars. Kids on stage. Unwanted phone updates.

The simple truth is that life doesn’t adjust itself to accommodate your desire to be faithful to what you've been given.

The louder life gets, the more intentional I have to be about where I give my attention.

It’s like the old television and radio antennas from when I was a little girl. If you're old enough to remember them, you know exactly what I mean. No matter how strong the signal is, your reception is limited by the position of the antenna. Sometimes you had to adjust the antenna until the picture or the sound became clear.

That's what I try to do every morning.

Once I realize I'm awake, before the thoughts about everything I need to do have a chance to take over, I try to bring my attention to God in some way.

Sometimes it's as simple as saying, "Good morning, Father," while I watch the morning light come through my window.

Sometimes, after a difficult night, it's, "God, thank You that You're always here even when it feels like I'm on my own. I'm just going to sit here and talk to You because I know You hear me, even if You don't talk back right away."

And every morning, before anything else, I find myself saying the same prayer.

"God, thank You for being intentional about me and my family. I know You are not random."

I reach for my worship playlist; hit shuffle; and it’s up from there!

I think that's why I keep coming back to intentional attention.

Not because it’s easy, but because it reminds me that God's grace keeps it runnin’ when life gets hard.

When life gets loud, it's easy to think my spiritual signal has gotten lost or distorted.

Starting my day by affirming that God is consistently intentional about me helps me attune to the right frequency.

So, in the midst of the noise, I can recall that the signal hasn't changed and adjust my attention until I find it again.

Because I know it’s there – wherever I am.

Prayer is a way of bringing my attention back to the One who was already there before I opened my eyes this morning.