About paying attention

Last week our local community (which means the sisters I live with ) went out for dinner at a restaurant on the top floor of Blacktown shopping centre. I arrived outside the restaurant earlier than the rest of the group, so I enjoyed the view from the top floor down to a nearby Blacktown Station. It was a very interesting night view. Many people were moving to different directions and to and from the station. There was also a group of people who were waiting for their pickups in the small roundabout at the entrance of the shopping centre. Among them was a young woman with around 4 year- old-boy also waiting for her pickup. The boy was using the opportunity for playing about around her mother. He ran around to a wide space behind his mum, while she was pacing back and forth and now and then watching at the cars stopping by and picking up different people. She held a mobile phone in her hand and regularly checked where her child was. From time to time the child would run towards her and embrace her. At some stage, she put her phone inside the bag and decided to play with her child. She hid herself behind the marketing sign close by, but her child didn’t know that his mum was playing with him. So, when he looked up and saw that she wasn’t there any longer, he started to get panic and frantically shouted looking for mum, and immediately cried out-loud. Mum who didn’t expect her child’s reaction, ran towards him, took him in her arms at once and comforted him.

This little story made me think a lot about God and the way I perceive His presence in my life. Most of the time, God as busy as He can only be, still keeps an eye on me and allows me to wander around. There are short moments when I panic because I thought He is not there, while He can simply be just a few steps away, slightly hidden, so to speak.

Saint John Paull II, the Pope with whom I grew up in my faith life, had a great gift of giving people 100% attention. Anyone who were fortunate enough to meet and talk to him face to face, would say that being with him no matter how short it may be, was a unique experience because he would make one felt so special as though there wasn’t anybody else in the world except the two of them.

It is all about paying attention. How many times do I feel hurt because I think that people do not listen to what I am saying? How many times do people talk to me verbally or communicate in many other ways and I don’t pay attention? How many times I don’t listen to their messages or the clues given to me? And as a result I leave them disappointed or hurt.

God does pay attention: 100%, at all time to you and me! He reassures us that He is always close by, and “not a hair of our head will perish” (Luke 21:18) without His knowledge. He does not play hide and seek with us, but even if we lose sight of Him, He is ready to pick us up and embrace with His love. Tonight, before I go to sleep I would like to thank Him for His loving presence and ask: Increase my faith, help me to remember that you are ALWAYS there for me, help me to BE LIKE YOU to others.

Have a good week everyone

Sr Grace