Paying attention to details

I thought this was about paying attention to detail and in a way it was but actually I think it was in response to the video I saw where the therapist was saying that we have gone too far with the whole healing of the inner child movement. This post is not about whether I agree or disagree but simply a response based on what God has been teaching me and a lot of the work that I have done over the years. I have cultivated my practice around using Grace as a means to explore your past. Not to re-live trauma or heal your inner child but I found that many times, there are lessons that were missed in those moments, memories, or experiences that have greatly shaped the way we live our lives today. 

I am not saying that there is no value in working through things in the present because I do also do a lot of solution-focused, behavior management, performance-based work but I have also had pivotal times in my own life and experienced those moments in the lives of my clients where doing this grace work has been monumental in shifting our current lives. 

God reminded me of the importance of this work this week, in a very simple way. I’d love to share my experience with you. 

This morning started off slow. For the past couple of days, I have been dealing with a bit of a stomach bug. I prayed a little but mostly just tried to motivate myself to get started with my day. I got dressed and began to move throughout my day. I made breakfast for my daughter and then made myself my favorite drink in my favorite cup. I put the cup down on the table to go and start my car (I’m a bit of a princess and like to get into a car that is warm, with warm seats). When I returned, I chatted with my daughter, a little off my game, trying not to be grumpy. I told her I was leaving, grabbed my cup, and headed downstairs. I sat the cup on the small table by my front door while I put on my shoes, grabbed my cup and all my bags, and headed out to the car. I threw my bags in, put my cup in the cup holder, and leaned to get in the car. As I got in the car, I noticed that my cup holder on the passenger side was filled with liquid. Confused, I lifted my cup and realized that the bottom had broken off. I sighed. Of all the things, I needed right now, another delay, more energy to clean this up that I definitely didn’t have since I was already still feeling the ick AND of all the places, how am I getting this out of the cupholder!! 

I took a deep breath and just said, oh well, don’t think about it just clean it up and go. So I did. I got a sponge, a bowl, and a spoon and went to work. 

When I was done, I threw out the glass, marveling at how neatly the bottom just separated from the top and went to return all my cleaning products to the house. When I opened the front door, I looked at the table and saw a ring of liquid, where the cup had leaked when I put it down to put on my shoes. I hadn’t seen that before when I was rushing out the door. I went upstairs and as I rounded the corner I glanced at the table and saw another ring on the table, and then it dawned on me… there were multiple warning signs, I just missed them all. I wiped them all up and realized there was a message in that whole experience. I had just missed it. Whether it was a warning or whether it was a necessary delay or all of the above. The lesson was truly valuable.

Here’s why:

I could have just focused on the accident, the delay, and the added stress that this experience had on my morning. I could have let it taint my entire day. But the simple act of walking back through my steps, reminded me that sometimes there is a benefit in going back to revisit what was going on for you during the time when significant events or traumas took place. Sometimes, when we go back, we can see that God was working, warning us, protecting us, ordering our steps and sometimes we learn that we missed a message that God was trying to get to us, but because we only focused on the trauma or the event or the broken glass and hassle that it caused, we can easily miss God’s tender loving hand and the way he is trying to speak to us and guide us throughout our days. 

What was the message, that I received: Pay attention to detail, don’t be in such a hurry to get on with the day that you miss what I’m trying to do in your life.

AND, there was a necessary delay. If I had left on time, as originally planned, I would have been at work by the time I received a call from work asking me if I could cover a few errands on my way in. This may seem inconsequential, but when I look at it now, I realize that the importance of me being able to do those errands was directly related to the very thing I had been praying about for my office and team. God is strategic. Sometimes we pray without expecting God to orchestrate things and then when He does, we miss it. 

Friends, let’s slow down, pay attention to detail, and be attuned to what God is doing in our lives, how he is speaking and moving. I believe that Grace gives us the strength to go back and see the places where God made provision for us, to heal, to learn, and to grow. 

God Bless!

Gracie