The other day I stopped at one of the
churches to get communion for a home visit.
Halfway to the church I remembered I would need keys. So I walked back to my car and opened the
compartment between the front seats where I always store my keys.
No keys! (At least not the ones for which I was
looking.)
“Don’t panic,” I thought. “Check your coat pockets first.” I had on my winter coat with the big pockets
and I knew I had the keys the day before.
So I searched my coat pockets multiple times. They just weren’t there. I went back to the compartment between the
front seats, thinking I must have missed them; but, no, they weren’t there
either.
I began to panic.
But then something nudged me to check
my glove compartment. There they
were! I never knowingly put them in my
glove compartment, but after reconstructing the scene from the day before, I
realized I had multiple items in my hand when I got into my car. The keys were to go into the middle
compartment, the other item was to go in the glove compartment. I had absentmindedly reversed them.
Actually, while I was relieved, I
wasn’t surprised. I’ve been doing that
with more frequency as I age. For
example, at home I might put my tea mug in the refrigerator and the lemon juice
on the counter, only to realize a minute later something isn’t right. I imagine it’s a sign of aging as I’m due to
enter my seventh decade in the not too distant future. I imagine also that it’s a sign that I have
too many things on my mind and am deep in thought when I do rather mindless
mundane tasks. Absentminded is, I
suppose, the polite description.
I realize we live in an era in which
the ability to multi-task is highly prized, but I question the human ability to
actually do so well. Our capacity for
attention is only so much; when we try to stretch it beyond capacity then we
are unable to do anything well. Yes, I
know today’s young people have grown up bombarded with multiple stimuli (how
much quiet fills their day?) and with much more supple minds than mine can no doubt
multi-task better than I, but certain tasks require concentrated effort. For example, I am of the opinion that when
one studies for a test while watching TV or playing computer games or listening
to music, the end result will suffer because the focus is divided. Still, maybe that’s simply what happens to me
and others may disagree.
My fear is that we carry over
multi-tasking into our spiritual lives.
Prayer is just one “task” among many.
Ideally, prayer ought not be a “task” at all but a moment of privilege
in which we connect with God in a way that improves our life journey—helps us
live more Christ-like lives. It seems to
me that the important things of life require undivided attention. Most of us have had the experience of being
in conversation with another person and the other person seems to pay more
attention to their phone than the conversation at hand. (I’m guilty of being that other person at
times!) But what kind of respect are we
showing the person with whom we are conversing?
It’s the same with God. If we truly respect God, then ought we not
focus our attention on God alone and not on God as one task in the midst of
many? Yes, that’s probably hard to do
for many of us as we live life multi-tasking, but it’s not an impossibility. Change is never easy.
And this Advent portion of the
Advent-Christmas-Epiphany season is a perfect time to try and give God our
undivided attention. Advent is a season
of patient waiting for God to act. The
waiting, however, is not meant to be passive.
It’s an active waiting of prayer and reflection, creating fertile ground
in our hearts and minds for God to take deeper root in our lives.
Yes, we are a multi-tasking culture,
but what a shame if the culture takes precedence over our faith journey with
God.
Have a blessed
Advent-Christmas-Epiphany season . . .
No comments:
Post a Comment