Deadly Distractions

Have you ever watched a horse race? My daughter has been riding for twelve years, and one thing I’ve learned is that horses, just like us, can become distracted due to their peripheral vision. To help them stay focused on their race, they wear special blinders. Distractions are a simple tool the devil uses to keep us from doing God’s work.

Here’s an example of my morning prayer time. “Dear Lord—” What is that on my arm? “Oh, hey Reese.” She replies by purring and batting the string on my sweatshirt. I close my eyes again after a quick snuggle. “Thank you, Father—” Now I have three kittens encircling me, making their adorable, tongue-rolling noises. “Ok, fine, let’s go eat.” As I pull out the cat food, I notice the bag is almost empty. So, I find my phone and add it to the grocery list, certain I will forget 2 minutes later if I don’t do it that instant. While in my grocery app, I remember we are almost out of dish detergent. Done. Well, as long as I’m in here, might as well add milk, blueberries and lettuce too. Oh, and toothpaste. That reminds me I need to brush my teeth. Before I know it, I’m rushing out the door to get to work. And what happened to my prayer time? Well, it’s ok. There’s always tomorrow.

What happened that morning? I became distracted. When we allow ourselves to get distracted by small, insignificant, everyday things, we can quickly lose sight of who God wants us to be and what He wants us to do because we aren’t spending the time we need to with Him. Reading, praying, listening for His direction, and just plain ol’ worshipping with thanksgiving.

The problem is, the things that distract us the most are very often things like our grocery lists or taking care of our animals. Maybe for you it’s your writing? Maybe you think that your writing is for God’s glory, so as long as you’re doing His work it’s ok. Maybe it’s your job or schoolwork. God wants us to work at all we do as if we’re doing it for Him, right?

As you begin your days, whether you’re writing, cleaning, teaching, or heading off to school, put on your blinders and start with talking to the One who created you!