Spiritual Attention

I was working on the Sunday Morning bulletin this morning and I looked out my window and the sunrise was breathtaking. Magnificent pinks and oranges mixed with pale blue and grey. I grabbed my camera and started clicking. By the time I got back to the computer the colors had been replaced by soft blues, pure white and the dark green of the trees began to come out. The frost on the tops of the houses added to the clearness of the day and there was a haze of some one's wood fire in the near distance.



It made me wander what we miss when we don't pay attention. I know with my children I missed so much. I am surprised at even the little things that they remember and talk about. I'm sure I don't remember because I was too busy doing something else at the time that seemed far more important.



For me it begs the bigger question; how much do we miss of the presence of the Lord? He is near all the time. He said he would never leave us nor forsake us. He chose to make his dwelling place with us. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. So what does it take not to miss this presence in our lives. Even for those of us who are dedicated to study and prayer are we living heads up? Can we be dedicated to study and prayer without being in tuned to the Spirit? W can not be in tuned to the Spirit without being dedicated to study and prayer. But I'm guilty of praying without listening and "studying" without looking into the face of the one speaking. Rude. This is our conversation. Am I missing something? Could I be even more awed by the spiritual colors around us if I paid closer attention? Or is there a lesson I could have caught this time and now the opportunity is gone?