Our sermon at church this morning just happened to focus on a passage that began with this verse:

Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. (Hebrews 2:1)

Pay closer attention… lest we drift away.

The words were for everyone—they are for everyone—but in that moment I knew they were for me. I glanced at Dan, standing next to me, thinking, Did you hear that?! and willing him to read my mind, but his eyes were on the Bible in his hands. Of course they were. 

I’m just a week into this discipline of paying attention, and the first sermon I hear centers on a verse with the words pay attention in it.

I wanted to grab the people around me and make sure they all knew the Holy Spirit was present in that YMCA gym.

Do you know the feeling I’m talking about? When God uses a person, a circumstance, something you read to affirm that He sees you and has something to say to you? And you don’t know whether to cry or laugh or both?

Today I heard clearly: I see you. Don’t stop paying attention. Don’t drift away. 

Had I read the passage ahead in preparation for the continuation of our Hebrews series today, I would have known those verses, with those key words, were coming.

I’m kind of glad I hadn’t, though, because as my church family stood and my pastor read the words aloud, I found myself the recipient of a sweet gift.

Today marks the beginning of week two of 31 days of paying attention, a month-long mission to document and give thanks for the everyday, mundane, and beautiful. It’s a series I’m writing for Write 31 Days, a yearly challenge in which bloggers pick one topic and write a post on that topic every day in October. Thanks for reading along! 

Sign up here and I’ll send you a weekly series roundup each Monday!