Distractions

Image by ilamag from Pixabay 

My husband and I’ve been watching The Chosen (at my husband’s request, which is a miracle of its own). In this last segment, the Pharisees are ramping up their hatred for Jesus, concentrating only on the letter of the law and ignoring the miracles. Both my husband and I wonder how these intelligent men could be so blind.

I woke up at 2 am this morning with this question still rolling around in my mind. After tossing and turning for a half hour, I conceded I wasn’t going back to sleep and crawled out of bed. As I sat sipping a glass of water, I realized my own blindness. I’ve been so caught up in the details of this new diet and the impact it has on my life, I had a hard time concentrating on my devotions and Scripture readings, along with other things.  

Jesus said the cares of this world would snatch away our faith if we weren’t careful. It is so easy to get caught up in the here and now, the problems, concerns, and tasks. After all the miracles I’ve witnessed, how could I lose my spiritual sight? And here I was questioning others, blinded by details.

Feeling the need for spiritual nourishment, I picked up a new devotion, Refresh Your Prayers. The reference to Psalm 139: 7-10 caught my attention. The movie segment we watched that night also quoted these verses.

“Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy face? If I ascend into heaven, thou art there: if I descend into hell, thou art present. If I take my wings early in the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea: Even there also shall thy hand lead me: and thy right hand shall hold me.”

“If I take wings early in the morning.” I guess 2 am qualifies.

Thank you, Lord, for loving me enough to reach for me in the depths of the night, for drawing my attention back to you and away from so many details, as important as they are. I need balance between the earthly and the spiritual. If anything, I need to lean farther into the latter. A 2 am wake up is a good place to start. It’s quiet. No distractions. It’s only you and me. Amen.

The Comedy Routine

They say haste makes waste and that is true. Haste, in my case, leads directly to an unscripted comedy routine and it starts with a few diabolical distractions.

I get up early, at least two hours before I need to start getting ready for work. These are the only hours in the day I have to sit alone in the quiet. I use that time to read my devotions, enjoy a cup of coffee (sometimes two) and write. Yet, this is also when I get into the most trouble.

Distractions, like rabbit trails, lead me further and further into the forest and farther away from what I should be focusing on - getting ready for work. In one heartbeat, I have two hours to putter. In the next I have less than a half hour to pack my lunch, shower, dry my hair, put on my make up and figure out what in the heck to wear that day. Breakfast? Well now that will have to be toast and peanut butter in the car. I bet you can see where this was going a lot faster than I did.