Pay Attention Inward NOW!
The Momentary Thoughts from a Satiated Mind is a sacred space where Spirit speaks before the fruit ever shows. Where whispers of heaven plant themselves in voice notes and morning commutes and friendly WhatsApp messages. Where prayer calls turn into healing sessions! Oh, and the thought, she’s sometimes that unexpected guest—showing up barefoot, bold, and right on time… even if I’m in yesterday’s sweats and not emotionally ready for company 😅
This week has been a wild classroom of divine whispers during phone calls and while listening to sermons, and contemplating my own coaching analogies, and… football. Yes, football! Stay with me, it’ll make sense. (I think. I hope. Oh Lord, help me put these thoughts together!) 😁
It all started with not one but two conversations about the prodigal son. I wasn’t the one bringing it up either—different people in different phone calls mentioned him, which is always Spirit’s subtle way of saying to me, “Hey, pay attention.” And while chewing on that, my coaching brain couldn’t resist pulling out my favorite analogy I often use with my clients about the difference between coaching and therapy. Therapy, I explain, is about processing what’s happened in the past so you can heal from it. Coaching, however, is like an athletic coach whose focus is to run you through drills so you can win the game in front of you. Simple, right? Except then my mind took a hard left into Dallas Cowboys territory. (and yes, Lord, I’m still interceding for them to win a super bowl while I’m alive). Why, I wondered, does my favorite team always fire the coach instead of the players when they’re losing games?
And then it hit me while listening to a sermon—a coach is only honored when the team wins. That’s when I felt God lean in and whisper, “So does your life. I get the glory when you’re winning.” God’s glory is seen when I’m winning—when I’m living in alignment with His playbook. This, of course, sent me spiraling (in a holy way) into thinking about all the times I’ve allowed myself to suffer because something painful happened. Like Job, I’ve had those “What I feared most has come upon me” moments.
Earlier this week, my brother Joseph (we’re in ministry school together) sent me a text that said, what comes up for you when you read these 3 words…”Restoring Adam Project”?
I stared at it. I reread it. I felt something stir.
Suddenly, the threads from my conversations about the prodigal son, my coaching vs. therapy analogy, and my musings on pain wove themselves into one fabric. The more I sat with it, the more I realized these different trains of thought were pulling into the same station—a station with a very bold sign: P.A.I.N. and RESTORE!
I have learned that no life is without pain. We all face it.
The gut-punch loss of loved ones. The heartache of broken relationships. The sting of lost opportunities. Even the illusion of lost time.
Pain rocks you at your core!
It shoves you out of your daily rhythms!
It makes you hyper-aware of just how invested you are in “normal” until normal disappears!
Through life’s classroom, I’ve learned that PAIN is not punishment—it’s a summons. An invitation to return to myself. To come back to my original settings. To remember my divinity.
The acronym for P.A.I.N as my blessed teacher taught me is:
— Paying Attention Inward Now —
Pain can be a gift—a holy interruption—if you’re willing to see it that way! A divine strategy that allows one to evolve, if they choose to look inward!
And let me tell you, Spirit has had me on that curriculum all week recognizing how pain has allowed me to see myself!
Pain has allowed me to: Return. Recover. Rediscover. Realign. In a nutshell RESTORE!
What Does “Restore” Really Mean?
Metaphysically: to restore is to realign with the original divine design—to return to your purest frequency, your God-given blueprint.
Spiritually: to restore is to return to harmony with God, reclaiming your identity as His creation and your authority as His child.
Plain English: to restore something is to bring it back to its original state.
For us, that means peeling off the layers life has dumped on us—fear, shame, loss, trauma, etc.—and finding the “us” God made from the beginning.
For me, to restore is to take the requisite journey back to myself—to the “me” that is already whole and complete because God made her that way. Sometimes, and somewhere along the road, I forgot and/or forget this constant truth! Now I remind myself of it… daily if necessary.
And here’s the thing: Pain, in all its forms, has been one of God’s most effective tools for getting me back to me. PAIN, for me, has been the holy alarm clock that wakes me up to self-examination. And in every season where I’ve allowed God to guide me through it, I’ve discovered something worth keeping: renewed vision, deeper faith, and a clearer understanding of my dominion.
When I think about the prodigal son, I realize: God didn’t drag him home. No angel whispered instructions. He decided. He came to his senses, got up from the pigsty, and went back to his father. Like the prodigal son, I’ve had moments where I chose my own suffering. I’ve sat in the pig pen of my thoughts and finally said, “Enough. I’m going home.” Luke 15:17 says, “But when he finally came to his senses…”
And here’s the beauty: when we decide to come back to ourselves, we see the truth of who we are and how we may have contributed to our chaos. Pain has a way of clearing the fog and revealing our dominion over all things.
So, when gale force winds that may come with hurricane-strength hit your life, and you’re staring at the wreckage thinking, “How did I get here?”—remember this: pain is God’s coaching strategy. If you choose to win, He gets the GLORY.
That’s the Restoring Adam Project—and in my case, the Restoring NoNo Project.
It’s recognizing that my kingdom rights were never lost, but I needed to wake up and reclaim them. So, here’s the takeaway: When pain comes knocking, God is saying, “Look inward. Return to Me. Seek Me. Find Me.”
💭 Your turn…Take a moment to reflect on this…
Identify what’s causing you pain right now. Literally take a breath!
Feel it—get familiar with the texture of it.
Place your left hand over your heart, close your eyes, and breathe deeply. Feel that heartbeat? Invite Spirit into that space.
Write down three things you’re proud of yourself for—yes, even in this moment.
Stick that note somewhere you’ll see daily and tell yourself:
“God is drawing me closer to Himself. Thank You, Lord, for loving me—even when it doesn’t feel like it.”
Now…Listen to “Just for Me” by Kirk Franklin with your eyes closed, it hits different! I promise! 😊
Relax… Pay Attention Inward Now…Breathe…
🙏🏽 I offer this ACTS Prayer — To Support You to Look Inward Now!
Creator of the Universe, Mother, Father, God,
Acknowledgement/Adoration:
I adore You as the Master Coach, the One who knows the plays before I step on the field. I acknowledge that You never lose, and when I follow Your lead, neither do I.
Confession:
I confess that I’ve let pain distract me instead of direct me inward. I’ve thrown pity parties instead of returning to You. Forgive me for the times I forgot the game plan.
Thanksgiving:
Thank You for the gift of restoration—for every loss You’ve turned into a lesson, every wound You’ve turned into wisdom. Thank You for reminding me that in You, my victory is inevitable.
Supplication:
Help me God to navigate through the pain that is consuming me in this moment. Show me how to surrender my mind into Your greater Mind. Show me how to rest in thee!
I Ask
I Allow
I Let It Be So
And So, It Is
AMEN
From the sidelines to the scoreboard,
Points Taken:
1. P.A.I.N. means Pay Attention Inward Now.
2. Like the prodigal son, restoration begins when we decide to rise, return, and reclaim our divine identity.