God’s Mindfulness
by Alison Scarborough
I don't know if you’ve noticed, but ‘mindfulness’ seems to be a much-used word right now. My understanding of what it is to be mindful, in this current usage, is that one is to be in a state of active, open attention to the present, instead of letting life pass you by.
I’ve recently been on a holiday visit to see my sister in Malaysia. She lives in a condominium on the thirtieth floor, with huge picture windows in the lounge and the bedrooms. This is higher, thankfully, than mosquitoes fly and higher than most birds, except for a few larks, (and I did see a bird of prey). Looking out of the window and down at the busy streets below I was instantly reminded of the scripture ‘What is man that You are mindful of him?’ or as it says in the New Living Translation ‘What are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them?’
The people look tiny. If I tell you that the cars looked like children’s toys that should give you an idea of the scale. Just occasionally a person would stand out from the crowd going about their daily business and it would be because they either had a particularly bright piece of clothing on, or were doing something exceptionally silly like riding their scooter the wrong way round the roundabout!
All this got me thinking. I started to wonder how many of us believe that God only notices us when we really stand out in spectacular ways, do something amazingly wonderful or something astoundingly daft? The Scripture seems to be saying that mindfulness is not a new concept, but that God has been, is and will be mindful, in a state of active, open attention to our present, and so is fully aware of us and our needs.
It took a trip to foreign shores, a thirtieth floor apartment and a reminder from Scripture for the Lord to get my attention and remind me that He’s intimately involved with my moment-by-moment daily life, giving attention to me and caring for me. You can ask Him to show you how He’s involved in your life, and not just for the big joys or disasters. Do let Him show you the small things too.
Prayer: Father God, thank You that You’re mindful of me, that You give attention to me and care for me. Please show me where I’ve believed anything other than Your full truth, so that I might walk into more of the fullness of knowing Your love. Amen.
Alison Scarborough has been part of the Ellel Ministries Team since 1997 having completed the `Nine Week School` in 1996. She has worked at Glyndley Manor, near Eastbourne, since joining team and is currently Deputy Director and one of the teachers there. She has travelled to share in teaching at some of Ellel`s other European Centres and enjoyed significant time with the Ellel Ireland team. Before joining Ellel Alison was a nurse and midwife who was especially interested in neuro-intensive care and infectious diseases.
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