“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?” God declares through the prophet Isaiah. “Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands” (Isaiah 49:15–16).
Does God tap you on the shoulder? Presenting you with an “uh-huh”? Perhaps I should pay attention to this?
With my drink cup and snacks in my hand, I am about to slide into the right seat of our Odyssey while on our Colorado vacation. My husband Roger, already in the driver’s seat, calls my attention to the hood of our vehicle.
Looking up, I think perhaps a bird or other critter would appear in my sight. But, instead, I notice a book resting on the driver’s side of the hood. The Practice of the Presence of Jesus, by Joni Eareckson Tada.
Puzzled, I reach out for the book and caress its cover for a minute or two. “Hmm. I thought I took you up to our room last night.”
Somehow, last night my tired brain had said enough. Amid the piles of things I gathered to bring in from the car, the book had apparently silently slipped to the ground and a kind stranger had put it on the hood for me to find.
I forget what to do. I just go on autopilot. I plop the pile of stuff on the hotel room table along with my purse, jump into the shower and fall into bed with the cool sheets lulling me to sleep. Losing myself in my thoughts.
But God wants to have that book and taps me on the shoulder… “Hey, Bonnie. Read this page.” I come out of my reverie and take Joni’s book into the car and turn to today’s page. To Know God. Joni, a quadrapelgic due to an accident when she was young, beautifully addresses this day the importance of making Jesus the center of your thoughts, to delight in me and do your most ordinary tasks with an eye to His glory. To Know God. To Focus on Him. Yes. To be present to bring Jesus’ love light to the world around you.
My schedule for the morning had not started as it should, so God brings me back to the present… shining his Light, nudging me in the right direction. What nudges you back to the present…to focus you on your Creator?
What helps me most right now is the daily intention of starting my day PEACED, with a schedule. I work to ingrain this in my daily habits to put PEACE of God first intentionally and focus on HIM.
This means start with Praying (including worship with Bible), exercise my body and mind and animals, do animal care for two aging pets, chow some hopefully healthy food, do Email / communication and Devotion of the Practice of Presence of Jesus. Then dive into my schedule.
It usually starts for me with just bowing in gratitude and guidance to let go to the God that loves me through all my forgetfulness, my humanness, difficult circumstances… and 20 minutes of silent prayer to get in tune with Him. To become aware.
His loving reminder, when you are aware, sometimes is in finding a book on the hood, sometimes a word from a friend, sometimes a playful pup, sometimes breathless mountain walks with a tree hug or beautiful foliage, sometimes, a text or note from a friend. Perhaps, a smile from a stranger or an unexpected “door” opens for you that you do not expect showing you that that you are not alone. Someone is aware of you.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s not easy. Phone calls, house emergencies, family needs, lots get in the way. Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to just forge ahead. Making that list. You look around and see so many projects that are on your plate. Where do you start? You feel frozen. Overwhelmed.
But no matter how often you forget, God loves you so much he will not let you go. Jesus knows you overwhelm…he has been there and has given his life that you may live. And now, the Holy Spirit is tapping you on the shoulder, remembering his child with love. “Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands” (Isaiah 49:15–16).
© 2024 Bonnie Smith-Davis
Awakening Light 