From Attentiveness to Responsiveness

Over these past several weeks, we have been moving slowly and deliberately through the

movements of the soul. We have tried not simply to learn these movements, but to recognize

them as they appear within our own lives.

Two of our recent movements have been Attentiveness and Responsiveness.

Attentiveness asks us to notice.

Responsiveness asks us what we will do with what we have noticed.

This week, NS and BP offer reflections that allow us to see both sides of this movement. NS

reminds us of the importance of becoming present enough to recognize what God is already

doing. BP then helps us see what happens when that attentiveness begins to affect the way we

respond to life.

NS Says:

“The first thing that came to mind when reading your Weekly Word on ‘Attentiveness’ is the

song, Way Maker, by Sinach. In the song, she talks about God being our Way Maker and how He

is moving in our midst even when we can’t see Him. To me, this song serves as a great reminder

that, no matter the circumstances, God is with us. Our responsibility is to trust that He is present

and to stay attentive enough to recognize He is near.

I have learned to acknowledge the fact that it’s not just the tangible things that make God so

wonderful and alive in my life. It’s more when I can slow down and see Him at work within the

earth. Not just in my own life, but also in the lives of those around me. He has not stopped

working when I am too busy to see. He has not left me when I haven’t taken time to be with Him

in my secret place. He has not stopped speaking to me, even when I pout and cry that He has. He

is a God who is always moving forward. It’s what you say at times, Rev., ‘Some of the things He

shows have to be caught, not just taught.’

It is simply being aware that He is right there in every aspect of our existence. Being aware of

His visitations and His creation. Because His creation speaks loudly, it is taking the time to

reflect on some of the things He has already brought me through. It is being steadfast and

immovable when I can’t hear or see Him as clearly as before, for whatever reason.

Lately, I have made it a practice of asking the Lord to show me what He wants me to see. When

He shows me things, it can be mind-blowing. He is touching our hearts and gently healing us in

our mind, body, and down to our soul. He is as present today as He was in the last thing He

blessed me in and the time before that. He is the God that changes not. He is the same today and

forevermore.

If we can become more present with God as He is with us, we will see the things He is saying,

and revelation will be evident in our lives.”

— NS

NS returns us to something we must not move beyond too quickly: God's activity does not

depend upon our awareness of it.

He does not stop working because we stop noticing.

He does not become absent because we become distracted.

He does not cease speaking simply because we have become too noisy to hear.

The work of attentiveness is learning to become present to the God who is already present.

And NS gives us a beautiful practice: “Lord, show me what You want me to see.”

That is the prayer of an attentive soul.

BP Says:

“When I think about responsiveness I can’t help but look back in comparison to the way I used to

respond to ‘things, people, issues, problems, etc.’ In comparison I was not in fact responding, but

reacting and in some cases even overreacting. I can remember that reacting left me with a feeling

of emptiness and dread, because it solved absolutely nothing and in hindsight was meaningless.

I have learned to not react nor to respond to those things, people, issues, and problems in the

same way. Where I was quick to react, I am now slower in my responsiveness on a more

consistent basis. Just as James describes that ‘everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak,

and slow to become angry.’ I used to hear my grandmother say, ‘That is why you have two ears

and one mouth because you should listen twice as much.’

Some of the lessons from my grandmother’s sayings helped me understand that responding to

everything wasn’t always necessary, and sometimes no response is also a response. Also, taking

time to listen and really hear was an important takeaway.

There are times when I am in my prayer and/or reading God’s Word and am led to quiet myself

before the Lord as He intervenes and gives guidance and direction for my life’s journey. Just as I

wait for the Lord’s direction, in the same way I’ve learned to wait and be patient in my

responses. Yes, some responses are immediate, but because of God’s guidance I am reassured in

my heart and soul that it is not a reaction that has been acted on abruptly.

At this time in my life I do in fact listen more and am more selective in my choice of words and

actions. My response to something does not always require an outward movement or verbal

response, but simply a made-up mind, a changed heart, even quiet forgiveness.

In the quietness of my heart I have seen and felt change and as a result I have grown to trust God

to lead even when I don’t understand. The peace of God that surpasses all understanding guides

me to what and how I address and/or respond to things.

I tell my children often that ‘it’s not what is done to you but how you respond.’”

— BP

BP has given us an important distinction:

Reaction and response are not the same thing.

Reaction is often immediate. Something happens, something is said, something touches an old

wound, and we answer before the soul has had time to listen.

Responsiveness has learned the pause.

There is space now between what happens to us and what comes from us.

And perhaps that space is one of the places where we can actually see spiritual maturity.

BP says that she now listens more. She chooses her words more carefully. She does not believe

everything requires an answer. Sometimes her response is not outward at all. Sometimes it is

simply a changed heart, a made-up mind, or quiet forgiveness.

That is significant.

The maturing soul does not merely learn how to respond.

It also learns whether a response is necessary.

Closing Reflection

These two responses allow us to see a beautiful movement:

Attentiveness creates the pause.

The pause creates space for discernment.

Discernment shapes the response.

Something happens.

But instead of immediately reacting, the soul pauses.

It listens.

It notices what is happening within.

It remembers what it has learned.

It waits for the Spirit.

And then—sometimes—it responds.

Other times, it remains quiet.

Perhaps that is one of the clearest signs we have encountered yet that the soul is maturing:

everything around us no longer has the power to determine what comes out of us.

Something deeper has begun governing our response.

One More Monday

Next Monday, August 31, will be our final Monday Weekly Word from this present series of

material. We have walked slowly together through these movements of the soul, and rather than

introduce another movement, I want us to use that final post to look back and gather some of

what we have seen along the way.

The journey, however, will continue.

On Saturday, September 12, we will gather for our next class and continue looking beneath the

surface of the Creation narrative in Genesis and the Book of Ruth, asking what these ancient

texts reveal about God's patient work in the formation and maturing of the soul.

For now, remain attentive.

Practice the pause.

And remember:

You do not have to react to everything that reaches you.

Sometimes the evidence that God is doing a deeper work within us is found in what we have

finally learned not to say, not to do, and not to become.