Being a photographer, one of the first things you learn is to PAY ATTENTION, to your surroundings, what's behind the subject, how the subject looks, the light around it... These items are very important because the slightest missed detail can make the difference between a good photograph and an extraordinary one. Is it for this reason that you will find most photographers Do not close one eye (That is a myth people!) but rather keep them both open... this way no detail is missed. One thing you have to realize is that you take about three to four hundred pictures to get about 20-30 decent pictures, and from that you walk away with around 6-12 produced pictures. I just did a photo session with an amazing friend, and really applied the pay attention rule, making note of the scenery behind her and every other detail involved. And wow... did the pictures turn out fantastic.
This got me to thinking, what if I applied this same principle to my everyday life? To be honest, I have to say I am amazed that in spite of learning this lesson, how often I do not apply it in my life. I get so busy with the insignificant details that I forget to pay attention to what really matters; and believe it or not, it's not whether or not my house looked perfect when you come to visit, but rather how much time I invested in my children and my husband. It's whether or not I spent my time counting how often my husband told me he loved me, when I could have spent the day planning on ways to show him how much I love him. Did I spend my day counting up what a friend has done for me, or spend the day loving that friend and seeing if there is anything they need.
Hebrews 2:1 (This seems to be my verse for the month) says: "For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we don't drift away from it"
While I know that this applies to our relationship with God, I wonder, what if we apply this to every aspect of our lives. How we treat our family, our friends, strangers and even ourselves. What if for just one moment we forget about all the silly little details that society has pushed on us, set aside our personal perceptions and just love people and see how much of a difference we can make in their lives.
So stop, look around you and PAY ATTENTION. Life is waiting for you... go live it.
God Bless,
Chi
Haha, we just went over a family devotional about alertness...we all need it! We talked about how it is learning to pay attention to everything around you (something we aren't great at and can see in our kids sometimes). It is true that it is so important, I believe God is always speaking to us we are just too distracted and self-absorbed at times to listen! How many divine appointments have I missed because I wasn't paying attention? Hmmmm...convicting! Great blog!
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