When I heard “don’t move your face” for the first time from my 3 year old daughter, I burst out laughing. She looked concerned because she was genuinely asking me to watch her do a new jump. She wanted to make sure she had my undivided attention.

Undivided attention…does that exist anymore for you? Can we ever focus on just one thought, one task, one conversation without our mind wandering somewhere else?

When the website you’re on is slow, isn’t it easy to click on another tab and work on something else until the original site comes up? Why wait- there are many other things I can do to pass the time.

When my son is explaining to me about a new feature in a game, I am turning my ear to him, but my hands are changing the laundry. I am hearing him but I’m not really listening. This issue resurfaces when my son is sure I have a memory problem because he already told me the explanation of Fortnite V-Bucks yet I ask again, “does that require real money?” The life of a busy mom, you know, we have to multitask in order to keep up with life.

(Photo credit http://www.freepik.com/sergeycauselove)

My house isn’t spotless or de-cluttered. My yard needs work. My dishes are in the sink. So it’s not that I “move my face” because I am a perfectionist and feel the need to uphold my perfect home. I am a “survivalist.” I do enough housework to keep us clothed, prevent tripping hazards (for the most part) and stop dust bunnies from forming…mine are more like dust hamsters (those are smaller, right?)

But do you, too, find yourself moving your face away? Moving your eyes away from making your storytelling children feel listened to and understood? Are you nodding “um hum” to a conversation but you’re also scrolling social media at the same time? Are you turning your ears away from a friend that is asking for support indirectly and not listening enough to catch it?

“Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.” Psalm 105:4

God, too, wants us to seek Him and keep our attention on Him. Maybe God is speaking through my daughter when she needs me and says, “Mom – don’t move your face.” God doesn’t want us to move our face from Him…just like my daughter wants my face on her.

What can we do today, tomorrow and every day to keep our face on Him and to those that seek our help or attention? For me, I need to look at people in the eye and show them that they have my attention. Maybe it’s knowing the laundry will be there in 5 minutes and move my face toward my son and daughter right now. Spiritually, keeping our faces on Him, not moving our faces away, is to invite Him into our daily lives. Our decisions, our goals, our attitudes…let’s not move our face; let’s bring Him honor through inclusion & direction in our lives.
Don’t you love it when an everyday life happening points us to being better followers of Christ, and better moms in the process?