Some say the devil is in the details. But I would say many blessings await us in the details instead. If we will watch for them.
I say “watch” because when we talk about noticing, we can’t always physically see things. Noticing may also occur because of sharp listening skills, sensitive fingers, a honed sense of smell, or a keen gut instinct.
Our guinea pig is getting old and has slowly been losing his vision. The vet said he has cataracts. He often can’t see things that are right beside him. But if he hears a certain crinkle sound and a snap, he knows I am getting veggies from the fridge for him and he shoots across his cage in anticipation. Likewise, on a hundred occasions, Mr. Whiskers has sensed when I was uneasy or sad or exhausted, and in each case he has shown with his body language or behavior that he understands I am struggling and he cares.
Usually, I notice many things about Mr. Whiskers too. I gather when he is annoyed and why. I sense when he is afraid. I anticipate many of his needs before he starts to show signs of those needs. But sometimes I drop the ball. Recently, his water bottle nozzle got jammed and I didn’t notice for quite some time. Several days ago, my husband found far more quickly than I did that Mr. Whiskers had a bunch of poop jammed up under his paw. In both of those cases, I felt terrible and unobservant.
When we notice the needs of another person in our lives, we communicate to them that we are paying attention, that they have worth in our eyes — enough to be noticed. Because noticing requires energy. And doing something to communicate what we’ve noticed and helping meet a need requires even more energy.
And when we are overworked, sleep-deprived, distracted, addicted, or otherwise selfishly affected, we do not have the energy we need to notice, to be blessed in the noticing, and to bless the other we have noticed.
My husband Paul and I have learned more about the blessing of noticing with each passing day. I find great joy in moments where I notice things and can help without him speaking up. I feel exceedingly loved when he does things for me just because he sees the need and not because I asked him one or more times. We both make mental notes of bothersome things the other person mentions and try to notice if that issue comes up again so we can avoid repeating the same trouble. But sometimes we mess up and forget and repeat our mistakes or fail to notice a need the other person has.
But even in that, there are blessings. There is the blessing of noticing that we were wrong or weak or thoughtless and the chance to be forgiven or extend grace. And there is the blessing of keeping a sharp, sensitive conscience so that we might continue to grow in the selfless love of Jesus. Because we care enough about each other and those around us to both notice and to actually do something about what we have noticed.
Yesterday, we went to the local zoo to enjoy the wonderful warm sunshine and milder afternoon. Without me saying a word, Paul decided to leave his phone in the car before we locked the doors. “I don’t want to be distracted,” he told me with a sheepish smile. “I want to be focused on you and all the interesting things we can spot here.”
The walk was sublime. And it wasn’t really because of the weather. It was because of Paul’s company and all we watched for along the way.
