The questioning words of my youngest granddaughter. She's obsessed with airplanes.
This past weekend, we had her and her older sister for the night. When this youngest one heard an airplane (Or, as she called it, an air-pa-plane), she'd stop in the middle of whatever she was doing and suck in a breath of excitement and exclaim, "Do you hear it, Gramma?" or "Do you see it, Bada (her word for Grandpa)?" It didn't matter if it was the first plane of the day or the 14th, her reaction was the same. She was always listening, her hearing acute; she'd hear it long before the rest of us. And then we'd all stop, listen, and then search the sky for the source. Sometimes we'd see it. Sometimes we wouldn't. That never hindered her vigilance.
As I pondered her mindfulness to the sound, two things came to mind: one spiritual and the other physical.
In Samuel C. Williamson's book, Hearing God in Conversation, Williamson says, "God mixes His many methods of speaking with the limitless variety of moments in our lives; He creates an infinite assortment of opportunities to recognize His voice."
My granddaughter's obsession was a lesson for me in the Spirit's way with us. When we are ever mindful of His voice--when we are always listening for His words--that's when we hear Him. That's when we realize that He's "flying over" in our minds, speaking to us. It doesn't matter where we are or what we're doing. IF we're paying attention, we'll hear Him. But if we're NOT paying attention, we miss hearing and seeing Him altogether. And thus, we miss seeing how He's moving and working in our lives. We miss the God-moment. Does that sadden you? It saddens me.
Also, I should not only be listening for the Spirit's voice, I should be hopefully expectant--ready to suck in a breath of excitement, like a little child, and to proclaim His presence to the world, no matter how hopeless or impossible the situation.
But that's not all. I need to remember that He's moving, He's working, whether I actually see the result in the physical world or not. His trajectory in my life doesn't depend on me. It depends on the faithful character of God!
Romans 8:6,7 (The Message): "Those who trust in God's action in them find that God's Spirit is in them--living and breathing God! Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out in the open, into a spacious, free life."
I don't know about you, but I want that "spacious, free life."
And speaking of that, I'm going to go outside and enjoy the glorious sunshine. And maybe, just maybe, I'll hear and see an airplane. "Yes, Aubrey, I hear it! Yes, Aubrey, I see it!"