Paying Attention

I sat down yesterday to write my monthly letter to my congregation and decided that I was “all written out.” I have written so many words in the last several months–working on my Doctor of Ministry project and final thesis–that I felt like I had nothing left to say and perhaps that is still true. I was struck by how blank my computer screen was and how I could not even find one word to begin.  So, I closed my laptop and decided to wait, but by late afternoon, still, there were no words.

This feels so unlike me. I can always find things to say, but not yesterday. In silence, I sighed and asked God for guidance and wisdom and provision, closed my laptop again and left it for the night.

Early this morning, as I went out on the deck to water my plants, that are still there, not yet discovered by the cold nights of last week, I was startled by the light of the sun rising and shining through the woods, making a path of light that shimmered in the trees–the ones still holding onto their leaves. Just for a few moments, I was entranced and the whole appearance of the ordinary things around me seemed to pop out and capture my awareness. The geraniums on the deck rail seemed to be in full bloom with more red blossoms than any time throughout the summer. The bird feeder was full of birds coming for breakfast. And down in the woods the deer were beginning to come out for the corn that the neighbors throw out for them. There were six of them. All ordinary things I see every day, but this morning was different, and I stopped to watch.

Then, something remarkable and exciting happened! At least it was remarkable and exciting for me. Suddenly, strutting out of the woods was the flock of turkeys that live there through the winter months.  Every year since I have lived here, the turkeys migrate to the woods behind the parsonage, to their winter home. They are funny to watch strutting through the neighborhood. They provide me entertainment and I provide them corn, which I didn’t have this morning. They didn’t seem too worried about no corn. They went to the neighbors for the corn put in pails for the deer. The turkeys prefer the corn that I throw out for them because it is easier to get to and they don’t have to wait turns to get to the pails. This morning they looked at me as if to say, “Get your act together Alicia! We expect corn tomorrow. Now tell everyone how lovely we are!”

Suddenly, I had a whole lot of things to tell about, to think about, to write about–the most important being to pay attention to what God gives us to notice. Pay attention to how God provides. Pay attention to how we can help God care for this world and God’s people. Pay attention to what makes us smile.

In the First Nations Version of the Gospels, the words of what we have come to call the Lord’s Prayer, in Matthew 6:9-13, reflect the call to pay attention to what God provides. These words give me opportunities to settle into moments of gratitude. For November, I think these words express what our hearts feel these days. I know that it expresses what mine feels in these days of chaos. The Lord’s Prayer in these words call me to wonder and to be thankful for all that God has given me. I hope they will for you as well.

O Great Father, we honor your name as sacred and holy.

Bring your Good Road to us, where the beauty of your ways in the world above is reflected in the earth below.

Provide for us day by day—the elk, the buffalo, and the salmon; the corn, the squash, and the wild rice; all the things we need each day.

Release us from the things we have done wrong, in the same way we release others for the things done wrong to us.

Guide us away from the things that tempt us to stray from your Good Road, and set us free from the evil one and his worthless ways.

May it be so.

(From Walking the Good Road:The Gospels and Acts…with Ephesians, Great Thunder Publishing, USA, 2017)