La la la la la la la, I can't hear you!

2:57 p.m. Today's project was to take care of business here at home, specifically to upgrade my AAA membership to 100 miles of towing, since both my son Steven and I drive a lot of miles. We drive identical cars, the 2005 Jeep Liberty. I admit that I've been quite smug about following the maintenance schedule, because I've undoubtedly avoided some major repairs by doing so. I've been pretty diligent! Until this weekend...I opened up mail from the DMV, while saying to Steve and whoever else may have been around, "What! I just heard the bank's computer account info on the phone, and I paid that registration!" So upon close inspection, I read "Amount due, "$0.00." Then I began a rant about the waste of taxpayer money on pointless notices, but stopped upon glancing upward to the heading:

NOTICE OF INCOMPLETE RENEWAL

"What is it now?!" I'm thinking. Then I saw a grey area and the light came on--my darling Jeep needs a smog certificate. I have to get it smogged! That calls for an admission that it's not brand new any more, sniff, sniff. Several friends recommended one particular place for a reasonable price, so I'll check them out this week.

Things would have gone a lot smoother if I had taken the time to read the first renewal letter in its entirety. Instead, I focused on the amount to pay and tossed the rest of the notice! So often, we just don't take the time to pay close attention to what we hear or see, do we?

Last night at Home Fellowship, we studied Jesus' institution of the Lord's Supper in the Gospel of Mark Chapter 14:22-25:

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread and broke it, and gave it to them and said, "Take, eat; this is My body." Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And He said to them, "This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many. Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."

The question asked by our Bible study leader was this: "Do you think the disciples knew what Jesus was talking about here?" The general consensus was no, for assorted reasons. (I thought to myself, "They didn't have the Apostle Paul there to explain it to them like we do!") What I expressed to the group is that no matter how many times Jesus predicted His death, despite their witnessing his Transfiguration, and being taught the Gospel daily by the Master, they just didn't take it in--perhaps they were too amazed by His miracles and overwhelmed by the crowds to even pay attention. Or, they put the bad news of their beloved Jesus' impending death out of their minds. I can relate to any or all of the above reasons we don't grasp important information!

Illness or fear can also block our listening ability. After the study last night, I went into the kitchen to retrieve the bowl I'd brought salad in, while Steve remained at the table where we'd been seated. One of the group members came up to me and asked what was the matter with Steve, because when she had politely asked how he was, she'd had to ask him three times with little if any response. I told her "He has Alzheimer's." She wasn't offended, just now knew what to expect.

When Steve and I discussed it at home later, he explained to me in a very agitated manner, "I didn't know who she was!" (Lauree is there mostly every week, like we are). I said, "You don't have to know someone's name to know that they're part of our Home Fellowship and just making conversation. She belongs there just like we do." He kept saying, "I didn't know her name!" It turns out that he doesn't know the name of our leader, either, I discovered. It was a lot for me to take in, even affecting me physically. I asked for prayer from my Facebook friends, and over 20 people responded without even knowing what the issue was--how blessed I am! "Pray for one another," James 5:16b says,"that you may be healed."

Prayers were answered, because today we have both been paying attention, especially to one another's words and needs--and we are so much the better for it!