Take Notice

We are bombarded with information all day long.
Information that matters.
Information that is nothing more than trivia taking up room in our brain.

There is never a respite.
Twenty-four hour news, 24/7 availability on our phones.
Alerts, alarms, and notifications.

You have to be intentional to turn it off.
You have to choose to put the phone on silent.
You have to be fine with not knowing the second someone wants to get a hold of you.

We have been so conditioned.
I thought of Pavlov’s dogs.
Pavlov was a Russian physiologist who wanted to study digestion in dogs.

Pavlov was looking at the salivation of dogs as the result of being fed.
Food was set before them, which caused the dogs to salivate.
Pavlov began to introduce something neutral before presenting the food to the dogs.

He would ring a bell, or set a metronome, or use a certain lab assistant.
All of these things after much repetition brought about the same response as the food.
The dogs began to salivate when the neutral object was presented, even without the food.

This is called a conditioned response.
It is behavior that is evident in humans as well.
A smell, a sound, a touch can bring about a desired response because of association.

That is never more obvious than when we hear an alert on our phone.
That ding, meaningless on its own, becomes a trigger for action.
We have so many different sounds that we respond to without even thinking.

It is wise to silence them and hear the stillness.
Hear the sound of nothing beckoning you.
Hear the quiet of nothing pulling you away from contemplation.

There are two things to which we need to give our attention:
What makes us cry?
What takes our breath away?

We don’t pay enough attention to our tears.

Jesus wept.
We are told of two occasions where Jesus wept.
Each time, a different word is used to describe Jesus’ tears.

As He approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace – but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you. (Luke 19:41-44)

The Greek word for wept that is used here is, klaio.
It means sobbing.
Crying with tears and sounds.

Jesus wept another time after the death of Lazarus.

When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews how had come along with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” He asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied. Jesus wept. (John 11:33-35)

The Greek word for wept that is used here is, dakryo.
It depicts a single tear falling down the face.
It is the single tear that wells up in your eyes and just trickles down.

We need to pay attention to our tears.
Of course, we know that sadness causes tears but so does beautiful music.
A gorgeous sunset, a newborn baby, a book we just finished, a movie that we enjoyed.

We need to pay attention to our tears.
We need to take note of what causes them.
In that realization, we will discover a bit more about our heart.

We also need to notice of what takes our breath away.
The sight of a bride coming down the aisle.
The scenery as we drive along, the changing color of the leaves, the new fallen snow.

We need to pay attention to the beauty that astounds us.
Majestic mountains, the vastness of the ocean, the night sky.
That which takes our breath away is the response to the raw beauty we were created for.

It is the silent tear that I pay attention to most.
That is the tear that perplexes me.
That is the tear that tells me more about the state of my heart.

When beauty captivates me and catches my breath, I am so grateful.
For a second, or a minute, or as long as I take it all in, I am undone.
That breath that gets caught in my throat, makes me stop and take it all in.

Sweet Jesus, You created this beauty that You are allowing me to see.
Thank You for stopping me long enough to see it, to savor it, to place it on my heart.

Precious Lord, You wept. Help me to pay attention to my tears. Help me cry tears for others and their pain. Help me notice what causes that single tear to fall from my eyes.

Quiet me in Your love so that I pay attention. I don’t want to miss a minute of what You are doing. Quiet my heart from the noise of the world so that I respond to You as You whisper.

Amen.