Look Up and Pay Attention
Table Talk
Setting the Table
You are welcome here. Come just as you are, bringing whatever is on your heart today. Take a few moments and allow yourself to just be. Take a couple deep breaths, grab yourself a cup of coffee, light a candle, do something that brings you comfort. Allow yourself to be present in this moment.
Consider some part of nature or life that easily captures your holy imagination – the ocean waves as they wash over the sand; the sunset as it touches the horizon; a baby's laugh.
“Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God,
But only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit round and pluck blackberries.”
- Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Exodus 3:1-4
Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness and came to Mount Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight and see why the bush is not burned up”.
Food for Thought
The world around us is afire with God, Elizabeth Barrett Browning writes. At the very least, the world all around us is aflame with fall! This is especially true for those who live in the mountain regions. We are entering that time of year where the green of the leaves gives way to their yellow, orange, and red hues – and the shifts in color and season have captured my holy imagination.
There are other places and moments that might do the same for you, that cause you to pause, to take notice, to turn aside or to look again – standing ankle deep in the rising tide off Baldhead Island, the sun leaving you alone with an orange tinted sky; in the front row of a concert, lost in the lyrics, the music, and the rhythm of a song; entering the final 2 tenths of a mile as you finish your first marathon; holding a loved one’s hand as they pass on, or coaching your wife as she births new life.
This week, the changing colors of the leaves and the crisper air following the tropical storm have beckoned me to more intentional attentiveness – but, I’ll admit, my holy imagination is not always this alert.
I can often miss the holy, amazing things happening around me because I get so wrapped up in what feels routine – going through the motions of simply getting from one moment to the next. And I don’t think this is just true for me. In some ways, it is true for all of us. We get so focused on the day-to-day – our jobs, our positions in life, our investments – that we become less aware of the blessings that surround us. Shoot, sometimes we are simply surviving, and yet, how might even that change for us if we were just a little more open to the world aflame with God?
This reminds me of the story of Moses. When Moses takes refuge in the desert, he settles into a steady, uneventful life as a desert shepherd. He finds a wife, marries, and becomes the caregiver of his father-in-law’s sheep. Moses immerses himself in the day-to-day duties of his new desert life. Then one day, while he is out shepherding his flock, he takes notice of a bush that is on fire – and yet, it does not burn up.
The story makes a point of telling us that Moses takes notice – he turns aside, he pays attention. We have no idea how long this bush might have been burning here along Moses’ path. Had Moses passed by this bush before now and not even noticed? Had he wandered by this exact spot, lost in thought, immersed in his duties, just surviving the day-to-day, and missed this holy piece of ground aflame with God’s presence?
But on this day, Moses takes notice and he meets God in a new way.
How often do we walk right by the places and the people in our world that are afire with God because we do not look up from our day-to-day lives to simply take notice. What do we miss? Who do we miss?
As we continue to consider how we can better harvest community around us, we must remember that part of harvesting is taking notice. We must be attentive and aware of people around us that make up our community – we must see with new vision those around us who are desperately searching for community, we must turn aside and take notice of those people who are creatively cultivating goodness in our communities, we must acknowledge those who faithfully show up in our communities, and we must seek to know the needs of those who are simply surviving the day-to-day in our communities.
Harvesting community is first an act of seeing – of turning aside and taking notice.
The world is afire with God. I wonder, what would it be like if we lived like we believed this? How might we be changed if we are always open to the possibility that the world around us, and the people around us, are aflame with the goodness of God. How might this reshape our communities? How would it open up our relationships with the people around us? How might this change the way we value each other, see each other, talk to each other?
How might we know God differently in the day-to-day of our holy lives if we were to simply look up a little more, and pay attention.
This reflection is not intended to make anyone feel shame or guilt for the ways that our lives can sometimes consume our attention. Instead it is intended to simply raise our awareness. If you feel overwhelmed by the day-to-day of life, know that you are not alone and you are deeply loved!
For those who might need a little reminder – take a sticky note or piece of paper, and write on it “Look Up! Pay Attention!” Put this reminder in a place where you can see it often. Let this note encourage you to be more attentive to the places and people around you this week that are afire with God’s goodness.
The goal of this series is to take small steps toward inviting others into deeper community with you. One way might be inviting others to join in for a little Table Talk. Here is a printable version of today's Table Talk, Look Up and Pay Attention, that we hope you will use in whatever way is helpful in your journey!
Blessing
God of all that is amazing within and around us –
life is hard, and complicated, and overwhelming.
It is easy for us to get caught up in our day-to-day
and to miss the ways that you are all around us.
Awaken us to live with more awareness.
Ignite our holy imaginations.
Inspire us to take notice of the places and people all around us
that are aflame with your goodness and love.
A little Table Talk for your table...
Recall for a moment the last time something unexpected caught your attention and called you out of the ordinary routine of your day-to-day life. Share that moment with friends or write it down.
Consider some ways that you can take on the spiritual practice of paying attention this week. How do you think that might change the way you experience your job, the people around you, even yourself?
Go for a walk or enjoy a walk with others. Practice paying attention. Who or what do you notice on your walk that you wouldn’t typically notice?
Try taking it to the Kids Table...
Light a candle, and talk for a moment about all that a little flame can do. Hold your hand close and feel the warmth. Make the room dark and see its light. Close your eyes and listen to the crackle.
How are people like this flame? Talk together about the many ways one person can add so much to the world. Highlight what gifts your child brings to the world. Talk about the ways your child can offer kindness, love, and change to the world.
Draw a little flame on a piece of paper and put it in a place where you and your child can see it this week. Let it be a reminder to you to pay attention to the goodness of people around you.
Meet Our Welcoming Voice!
Lin Story-Bunce is a North Carolina native, and lovingly calls Greensboro, NC home. She earned a Masters of Divinity from Wake Forest University and has served a wonderful and thoughtful congregation at College Park Baptist Church since 2009, pastoring to families and their faith development. Most of all, Lin loves the moments she gets to connect with her family, snowboarding with her wife and keeping up with their four kiddos and two energetic pups. Lin is a teacher, preacher, dreamer, and procrastinator who, if you ask her youth group, has a knack for trying to do way too many things in far too little time.
To hear more from Lin throughout the week, follow along on our Instagram!
Here are Five Things to Remember When Setting Your Own Welcome Table!