Mindfulness

I’ve been thinking about mindfulness. This has been vital in how I have been able to get my weight more under control. I have to think about what I will be eating, not only as I eat but as I plan my day. When I get lax about it, then it becomes easier for me to pick up food on the run. That’s when I get into trouble. And over the Christmas to New Year’s time frame, there were all kinds of goodies sitting around that just kept calling to me. So it’s back to mindfulness.

It’s not just in relation to food that this is important for me. There are so many areas of my life that get out of control when I am not mindful about them. I tend to be an “out of sight, out of mind” kind of person. If something is out of my view for any length of time, it is very easy for me to forget about it. I “lose” things this way, only to be rediscovered later often when I no longer need them or have already replaced them. This happens to me even in my relationship with God. I get so busy that I “forget” to take time to strengthen the relationship so other things begin to take precedence in actual practice.

Well aware of this tendency, God through Moses asked the people to “recite [these words] to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” [Deut. 6:7-9]

So to help us remember, every morning Maxwell and I read the Upper Room devotional at breakfast. What are some of the ways that you seek to be mindful about your relationship with God?

Deuteronomy 6:4-6

Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart.