neglect

i was watching a video the other day on how to grow ginger and the gardener in the video said if you want to have a green thumb, the one crucial thing you need to do is this: PAY ATTENTION. 

boy, how very little we pay attention. sometimes, we only pay attention when we want to be heard, or when we don't agree, or when we want to critique, or when we want to appear more knowledgeable. 

but paying attention is much more than being able to pick out the wrongs that need to be corrected. paying attention means observation. sometimes it means not speaking at all. it means biting your tongue. it means reservation. it means wisdom. paying attention means knowing what you need to look out for--Look out for the dogs, the evildoers, said apostle Paul in Philippians 3. it means knowing what to keep yourself from and doing all things possible to avoid being caught in it. it means knowledge of right and wrong and the wisdom to apply this knowledge to our lives. 

paying attention means regarding the details with care--are the leaves dry? the root rotting? the soil parched? the plant green or brown? paying attention means soaking in the situation, knowing what to do in EVERY situation, and being disciplined enough to act on the situation with the correct approach in order to reverse the situation, if bad, or progress the situation, if good. 

paying attention means practice practice practice!

paying attention means discipline.

paying attention means not neglecting. 

not neglecting what is important.

not neglecting that EVERY LITTLE STEP COUNTS.

not neglecting that we ought not to leap when at the moment the only thing we are able to do is crawl.

not neglecting that every day is not the same but tomorrow is another day of grace.

not neglecting that growth is not a one time thing. that there is infinitely more we can grow into. that the process must be enjoyed even when painful.

not neglecting that we are not the ones pulling ourselves up from our bootstraps, because it is God who wills and works for His good pleasure.

not neglecting what isn't important, what may only be ordinary. not neglecting the ordinary. because even slogging through the ordinary, the hustle and bustle, the day to day, COUNTS towards building the greater picture. that Rome wasn't built in a day at all, but each day counts. not neglecting means letting each day count. 

not neglecting means a little goes a long way. 

not neglecting means tuning in to what is worth your time; nay, determining what is worth your time, and pouring your entire life into it. 

not neglecting means not sleeping where it counts.

not neglecting means not doing just the bare minimum to pass.

not neglecting is realization of this:

Provers 24:30-34 

I passed by the field of a sluggard,
    by the vineyard of a man lacking sense,
31 and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns;
    the ground was covered with nettles,
    and its stone wall was broken down.
32 Then I saw and considered it;
    I looked and received instruction.
33 A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to rest,
34 and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
    and want like an armed man.

a little is all it takes to snare our heart which is a desire factory.

all that said, i feel i've greatly neglected this blog. call it busy-ness. call it not having any time. call it not having any thoughts worth sharing. call it laziness. call it whatever. 

i feel i've greatly neglected this blog and i'm doing the bare minimum to pass. come to think of it, i feel that way with the rest of my life. 

this is God's mercy: that we are not stuck on the step of realization. that He pulls us out of the pit of our own making. that He says, "time's up. wake up. get up. it's time."

waking up is hard to do because it requires discipline. but more than that, it requires faith.

faith that it's only God's love that is consistent. for we are not. and that is why we ought to pay attention when we are falling and not neglect to act by clinging harder and closer and more fiercely to God when we realize it. 

there's lots to be done. 

neglect is and cannot ever be an option.

so pay attention.