My son has an exceptional awareness and understanding of birds. Often when we’re outside, he’ll say, “Did you hear that?” And when I respond that I heard a lawn mower, children playing, or a dog barking, he’ll answer with something like, “No, I mean the black-throated green warbler!”
I’ve learned that while he is also hearing the sounds I’m hearing, he isn’t distracted by them. He’s there to listen for birds, and his fine-tuned attention enables him to distinguish each unique call and song, without allowing his thoughts to be pulled toward the other noises.
This has served as a lesson to me, showing how practicing undistracted attention toward God in church, as well as in my practice of Christian Science, can bring great spiritual growth and healing. Such focused attention on divine Spirit in a church service gets at the heart of the spiritual message found in the Christian Science Lesson-Sermon, hymns, and prayer, and does not divert from that message.
