{"id":3033,"date":"2018-07-02T14:57:10","date_gmt":"2018-07-02T14:57:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/howgreatthoupart\/?p=3033"},"modified":"2018-07-02T14:57:43","modified_gmt":"2018-07-02T14:57:43","slug":"3-ways-god-gets-attention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/howgreatthoupart\/2018\/07\/3-ways-god-gets-attention.html","title":{"rendered":"3 Ways God Gets Our Attention"},"content":{"rendered":"

I once listened to a sermon about life being easy.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The priest compared it to sitting in an armchair contentedly watching life and getting by.<\/p>\n

The years I lived a comfortable life I won’t lie – like many, I thought I had just made smart, non-impulsive choices.<\/em><\/p>\n

I had figured out the riddle.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"stop-shield-traffic-sign-road-sign-39080\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I had outsmarted life.<\/p>\n

I couldn’t have been more wrong.<\/em><\/p>\n

Those just weren’t my growth years.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think I would compare it to childhood. There are so very many great years and they all kind of blur together. And then there are the adolescent growth spurts.<\/p>\n

The uncomfortable moments meant to shape us.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Everyone has challenges.<\/em><\/p>\n

They just come in different shapes and sizes and at different times. And of course, what follows is how we choose to handle them. I personally, was tenacious. A fighter. A skill I learned from a tremendously strong mother who wasn’t afforded the luxury of giving up. Unfortunately, I used that attribute to attempt to save my relationship and there wasn’t much left by the time I filed for divorce.<\/p>\n

I fought God while he was seeking my attention.<\/strong><\/p>\n

And I couldn’t be happier to leave these last five years in the past.<\/em><\/p>\n

Yet I am grateful\u00a0to now know the first lesson I learned when God got my attention was had I (a reformed enabler) walked away earlier I may not have been so vulnerable these past five years. The second lesson I learned is no one escapes heartache.<\/p>\n

And the third is a simple gratitude for all the suffering because it ultimately woke me up personally, emotionally, and spiritually.<\/em><\/p>\n

3 Ways God Gets Our Attention<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mistakes<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our Mistakes force self-examination.<\/em><\/p>\n

That is if we let them.<\/p>\n

If we choose self-reflection and what we can learn from them over beating ourselves up or ignoring them.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Of course, some mistakes are small but others can cause the loss of relationships, jobs, etc. and can be truly devastating.<\/p>\n

Mistakes can turn into great opportunities to learn something about ourselves, improve ourselves or even take us towards a new opportunity.<\/p>\n

Heartache<\/strong><\/p>\n

The heart sustains us, therefore, when it hemorrhages it can be difficult to stop the emotional bleeding.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Eventually, we must force ourselves to heal and accept what our heart has had to let go.<\/p>\n

Some of which we will never understand.<\/p>\n

The turmoil of the heart can be attributed to loss, divorce, break-ups, caregiving, worry over family members and so much more.<\/p>\n

When the heart aches it searches for God.<\/strong><\/p>\n

And this can bring us to a deeper spirituality and an acceptance of a new and yet unknown path.<\/p>\n

Change<\/strong><\/p>\n

We are hesitant to accept change.<\/em><\/p>\n

Despite the fact, change can often be the impetus for great new things.<\/p>\n

And we are especially resistant when we are forced to make unwanted changes in our lives. Perhaps we must move for a new job, downsize our lives due to financial stresses or leave a relationship, just to name a few.<\/p>\n

There is a comfort in the known but God’s plan is to make us uncomfortable at times.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If not, we wouldn’t push ourselves to experience new things or those which place us outside of our comfort zones.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

God will get our attention.<\/p>\n

He will elevate us personally, emotionally, and spiritually.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some of it we will come to understand and embrace and some of it we will be forced to accept for reasons unknown to us.<\/p>\n

They are our spiritual growth years.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Follow me on Facebook @Colleen Orme National Columnist<\/strong><\/p>\n

Photo courtesy of Pexels<\/p>\n

on Twitter @colleenorme
\non Pinterest @colleensheehyorme
\nE-mail: Colleen.Sheehy.Orme@gmail.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I once listened to a sermon about life being easy. The priest compared it to sitting in an armchair contentedly watching life and getting by. The years I lived a comfortable life I won’t lie – like many, I thought I had just made smart, non-impulsive choices. I had figured out the riddle. I had…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":575,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[341],"tags":[207,8,57,231],"class_list":["post-3033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","tag-christianity","tag-faith","tag-self-help","tag-spirituality"],"yoast_head":"\n3 Ways God Gets Our Attention - How Great Thou Part<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"3 Ways God Gets Our Attention - How Great Thou Part\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I once listened to a sermon about life being easy. The priest compared it to sitting in an armchair contentedly watching life and getting by. 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