Paying Attention to My Dashboard

I looked at my gas gauge as I pulled into our driveway for the third time that day, and I realized I was down to a quarter tank of gas. I tend to watch the gas gauge on my car rather carefully, because I do not want to run out of fuel. My husband could tell you I get anxious if the gauge reveals less than an eighth of a tank. Paying attention to the gauges on the dashboard of our car is important, but do I pay attention to the gauges and warning lights of my life?

Jesus often used metaphors and pictures in his teaching. A metaphor can allow us to access a truth more easily and fully. Consider the dashboard of your car with all the gauges and warning lights; consider the dashboard for you. Are there warning lights and gauges for my life? We learned to operate our car and pay attention to the dashboard to steward. our car well—we can steward our life well as we learn to read the dashboard of our life with wisdom and skill, especially as the Spirit guides. Proverbs 4:23 reminds us to guard our hearts… this is one way to practice this exhortation.

The dashboard of our inner life?

What is the fuel gauge for your life and your soul? What kind of fuel provides energy? How do you know when your tank is nearly empty? Are you running on fumes and is a red light glowing on your dashboard? When you become depleted what do you need? What does that look like for you or me? Am I particularly edgy or grumpy? Am I struggling to focus? Am I fatigued and relying on adrenaline or caffeine to function?

What about the temperature gauge for my engine? How do I pay attention to emotions? Am I aware when the engine is getting dangerously hot and my anger level is approaching the red zone? When does anxiety reach the level that it hinders my life, limiting my capacity to engage beneficial risk? Do I notice when uncomfortable emotions surface before they reach the danger zone where I may explode, implode, or panic.

God created us to feel—it is our design. What is needed to feel and regulate emotion and walk with God? Emotions operate as indicator lights on the dashboard of my inner life: shame, anger, delight, fear, anticipation… and more. Emotion is an indicator of things that are happening within and can lead us to process and experience life well. "When we hide from what we feel—from emotion—we hide from the truth. Remember that emotion is not a debatable phenomenon. It is an authentic reflection of our subjective experience, one that is best served by attending to it." (Curt Thompson, Anatomy of the Soul). I need to pause and pay attention. Can I feel the emotion, name the emotion, and bring it into prayer? The Psalms are a guide for our prayer as we navigate the inner world of emotions and beliefs. A counselor, spiritual director, or wise friend can be helpful as I process.

How full is your tank?

Warning sounds and lights are triggered when a seatbelt is not buckled or a car door is not closed properly. What signals me when healthy boundaries are not in place in my relationships or perhaps my work schedule? How can I re-establish healthy boundaries where they are needed? What other warning lights and gauges might inform my inner life?

How do I pay attention to the speed gauge? What is the optimal pace for my life in this season? That may depend on the limits of my vehicle and where I am driving. Speed needs to be aligned with weather conditions and the terrain of the road. In stormy seasons and on treacherous roads it is beneficial to slow down. And there are times accelerating speed is needed and appropriate. In order to enjoy travel, accomplish our purpose, and arrive at our destination safely we need to be attentive to many things. Some of those things are beyond our vehicle: the road and the lines on the road, other vehicles, signs and traffic signals, the weather and more. And some of those things are within our vehicle.

Paying Attention

Curt Thompson reminds us to "Pay attention to what we are paying attention to" in his book, Anatomy of the Soul. Step back for a moment. How could this metaphor of the dashboard of a car serve my reflection and prayer regarding my life?

Where do I tend to focus my attention? And where do l tend to avoid being attentive? If I consistently look beyond myself for the source of angst and problems in life and neglect to attend to my own heart I am in a significant danger zone. If my life starts to derail through consistent challenges, relational conflict, health issues, increasing anger or debilitating fatigue, I may have developed a habit of ignoring the warning lights and gauges that God has provided.

Living well involves engaging the external world... and the internal world. We must learn to read the dashboard of our body and soul, attentive to the cues provided for us and, particularly, listening for the Spirit of God to guide and interpret for us. Trustworthy and wise companions will also offer us beneficial insight.

Pushing Beyond Limits

I remember my first flat tire. I was driving a Dodge Omni, my first car, by myself at night on my way home from the house of a friend. Initially something just didn't seem right, but eventually, the sound and feel of the car made it clear that I had a problem with my tire. I just wanted to make it home, so I drove on the damaged tire. I was glad I made it home. Although not only was the tire flat, but the wheel was damaged beyond repair. I will plead youth and ignorance for how I pushed through the warning signs. Today I have a vehicle with a light on the dashboard that indicates trouble long before I would notice it while driving. Are we as attentive to our inner life as we are to the vehicles we drive?

Finally a car needs a tune up, a minor fix, or an oil change regularly, and, on occasion, it will need a major repair. Perhaps a mechanic reminds me that consistent maintenance upkeep is beneficial for the well-being of my car. Or maybe I wait until the need is obvious.

Our life needs care too. For me, there are daily and weekly practices of attentiveness to God and there are also periodic spiritual and emotional soul “tune-ups.” I find these practices necessary and important. For a "soul tune-up" I retreat—I intentionally pull away from the fullness of life’s usual rhythms for a half-day, a full day or a weekend to attend to God. The spiritual practice of retreat has become essential in my walk with God. It is a place for realignment, repair, and renewal. It is there I deeply pay attention to the Triune God: designer, sustainer, and source of my life. As you steward your beautiful, God-designed life, how do you pay attention to God’s invitation regarding the needs of your life, internal and external?

Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.

Proverbs 4:23 NLT

A Kintsugi Life Prayer Retreat - November 2025

Prayer Retreat

A Kintsugi Life Prayer Retreat