What was your favorite color as a little girl?

That is easy for me. It was, and remained for a long time, purple. When I was seven, my parents bought my sister and me a brand-new bedroom set. We had new beds with matching headboards, a desk, and got to pick our own bedding. I was thrilled when my mom said I could choose the paint color, a rich purple. Few things made little Patty happy as my new, beautiful bedroom.

Lydia is both a mysterious and striking woman in the reading today. We know she was from Thyatira which is in modern day Turkey. Her hometown was a gateway between East and West, a crossroad of ideas, culture, and business. Lydia was a businesswoman, a dealer in purple cloth, a color reserved for royalty. She did business with people who made clothes for kings and emperors. People in her town knew who she was from her skillful trade. I like to think she was creative, smart, independent, and skilled in her craft.

Scripture tells us Lydia was converted through the preaching of Saint Paul. She became a Christian and others in her household followed her example. Her home became a meeting place for believers in her town.

I am so struck by this, "The Lord opened her heart to pay attention" (Acts 16:14). Lydia had an encounter, and she was changed by it. She attentively listened, became a follower of Jesus, and the Lord opened her heart to pay attention.

Where do you need God to help you pay better attention? Are spaces in your life or heart that need focus or re-direction?

May we pay attention to where God is calling us, just like Lydia did.

[bctt tweet="Pay attention. // @amoderngrace" username="blessedisshe__"]

listen to today’s devotion

Lord Jesus, open my heart to pay attention to You today.