Distractions

“But all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life…” Mark 4:19 NLT

Ok, so I’ve been distracted the last couple of weeks. That is obvious as I have not written a devotional for the past two weeks. One week I was on vacation and the other…well, I just forgot! Life is full of distractions and things that will get us sidetracked from what we have on our agendas.

One area that has been hurt by my distraction is quality time with God in His Word. I have let the cares of this world get me distracted from a consistent time of studying the Bible. I can certainly tell the difference in my life when the Bible is not the main book I’m reading. Selfishness, apathy and laziness creep into my life. I’m not able to handle stressful situations with grace. My words are short and biting. I become a person that I don’t want to be around. So, I’ve tried to remedy this situation by committing to reading from the Word every morning before I leave the house. Since there are 31 days in October, I am going to read one chapter of Proverbs each day. There are 31 chapters in Proverbs to correspond with 31 days in October. Not only am I going to read a chapter, I am going to study and meditate on it. Proverbs is full of wisdom to help us live our lives the way God wants us to. I don’t want to miss out on any of God’s instructions.

Another area of my life that has been hurt by my distraction is the overwhelming responsibilities I’ve taken on at home, school, church and in the community. Too many things to do always makes me cranky. I tend to put off some of my responsibilities and get distracted because I am overwhelmed and don’t know where to begin. My solution for this is to start delegating or stepping down from some of the responsibilities I’ve taken on. Life just seems to work better for me if I can keep things simple so that I am not distracted.

What is your distraction? What can you do about it?