As a young mom of two babies under two, I quickly learned it would be important for me to learn how to capture the attention of my child. Although my youngest was quite peaceful, my oldest was non-stop, go, go, go! From the first kick in utero, it seemed he was in constant motion. And when you are outnumbered by children in your household, you have to get strategic.
A precious mentor-mom shared the Golden Ticket with me. “Get his eyes,” she said. “Get his eyes and the rest will come with him.” So I embarked on capturing my son’s eyes. Lord, help me! I’d hold his chubby little toddler face in my hands and say, “Larry, I need your eyes. Look at Mommy.” The only thing that wasn’t moving on that boy what his face, and only because I had it held gently in my hands. The feet were moving. The hands were swinging. And his blue eyes were flitting all around, occasionally landing on mine only to quickly be distracted by something beyond me. What would it take for this precious boy to be still?
He says,
“Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
Psalm 46:10
How often do I do the same thing to the Lord? Convincing myself that if I’m in a state of perpetual motion, it will all work out. If I just keep moving, I’ll discover the missing piece. If I just keep looking, the answer will reveal itself. My heart seems to say, “Don’t worry, Lord, I’ll figure it out. I’ve got this. You can count on me!” As an Executive Assistant, my days are filled with motion – physical and mental. If I’m not implementing a plan, I’m mentally preparing for something. Events, appointments, email responses, calendar juggling… Before long, though, it can all add up very quickly. So I pick up the pace. Another responsibility reveals itself. I begin to jog. The phone rings. Run faster. Ahhhhhhh! Suddenly I resemble a woman running with her hair on fire. And all He wants are my eyes.
Our God wants our eyes, our attention, our hearts. If we would just pause to look at Him we would see His loving smile. Stopping to give our attention to Him helps us to hear His voice more clearly. Once we hear His voice, we can’t help ourselves but to give Him our hearts and be gently led by Him. He delights in leading us to His answers that so easily evade us – answers for the very work He has entrusted to us! Yes, I was finally able to capture Larry’s attention. His eyes learned to land on my face and linger there. His ears opened to my voice and our eyeball-to-eyeball interactions became heart-to-heart conversations – usually ending in toddler-sized hugs. Of course there were times when Buzz and Woody were just too much of a draw for his little boy attentions and he’d happily run off before a hug. But that’s OK because knew that I’d captured his heart and everything else would follow.
Let me encourage you today to pause and let the Lord capture your attention. Take a moment to look into His eyes and see how loved you are. He has the answers to the elusive. He has the comfort for the disappointments. He has the peace for the overwhelm. He has the rest for the weary. As we still ourselves we will hear Him whisper…
You are adored.
You Are Adored 