May 27, 2024
“O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from far away. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely.” ~Psalm 139:1-5 NRSV
I am part of several message groups of friends and family who send messages to the whole group. A member of one of the groups will often send beautiful photos that capture the sunrise and sunset. The photos are always accompanied by a few words of wisdom, often from the Bible or another source of wisdom. Here is a recent post:
“They say that sunset is one of God’s most beautiful miracles. It’s His way of showing us that even endings can be beautiful. But admit it or not, sunsets are also one of God’s most underrated miracles. In a fast-paced world, it has become just another of nature’s routines that nobody really pays attention to.” ~ I’m paying attention and sharing with you.
My hasty response, “Thanks for praying attention so we get to see.” One of the friends responded with a heart emoji ❤️.
It wasn’t until the next morning that I noticed my typo. I intended to write, “paying attention.” In my haste I wrote “praying attention.” So I sent a message saying I meant to write “paying” but wrote “praying.”
To which another participant replied, “I think it would be great for all of us to pray attention.”
When we lived in Maui, one of my cousins and her husband visited after spending a week at a golf resort on the other side of the island. She complained, “It rained so much. We saw lots of rainbows, but not a single pot of gold. I hope I never see another rainbow.” Ouch!
Typos are not God’s responsibility. I was applying for a job once, upon the recommendation of a friend whose last name was Manigold. My computer auto-corrected it to “Mongoloid” and I never caught it. Carefully checking my work is my responsibility. But sometimes, those typos, just like Freudian slips, speak volumes. If I took the time to review all that I’ve written in the past 20 years as a pastor, I imagine I’ve typed “pray” more often than “pay.” The same goes for “worship” not “workshop, and “church”, not “chuck”.
Paying attention to God’s presence in our lives is a form of silent prayer, of careful attention to God’s hand in the world around us.
May we all pray attention. ~ Anne
Wayfinding 