Clomp. Clomp. Clomp. I was trying to focus on prayer during church, but all I could hear was the thud of heavy walking. I was sitting in the balcony, and the floor shook. I'll admit it. I opened my eyes and looked up to see the culprit. I thought only a 250-pound man could make such a ruckus. Ha! It was a young girl with bulky-soled books. And she was wandering across the balcony with her head held high and no regard to anyone around her. How rude!As is often the case, God asked me a subtle question in the moment of my judgment. "Can you not focus on me while there are distractions?"
I started thinking about my daily life, and how I sometimes have my arms so full, I can barely see where I'm walking. Have you ever tripped while carrying groceries into the house or a stack of books up school stairs? What about when carrying boxes when moving or reorganizing? When the focus is on what's in your hands instead of where you're going, you can get yourself in trouble. Like when I reached for the door handle while carrying pizzas and firmly grabbed the bee sitting on the handle!
God meets us where we are, whether we're carrying an armload of baggage and personal responsibilities or not. But our focus will be impaired. We have to focus on adjusting the weight we're carrying or peering around our loads to make our next steps. We won't be fully attentive until we set down our burdens and clear our paths to seeing and hearing God.
Distractions aren't always out of our control, like the girl clomping across the balcony. Distractions are often in our own hands. What distractions will you set aside?
Because he is our God and we are the people he takes care of, the sheep that he tends. Today listen to what he says. - Psalm 95:7 (NCV)
