Distractions Can Be a Sign from God

   Homework time can be a bear around our house for a couple of reasons.  First, because our oldest son seems to have the constant homework pile-on, it takes him hours to complete the work each night, while our younger son, not only has little homework each night, but he can whip it out in no time.  Second, when we try to get them to do their work they find every reason in the book not to sit down and complete the task.  Yes, we use the logic that “by the time they finished procrastinating they could have finished their work!,” but alas that doesn’t have any affect.  Then again, I can’t really say too much, because I remember at their age I did the same thing.  At times I still do.
    You may have noticed that I have not been very attentive to my blog.  It’s been over two weeks, and in that time there have been many things I could have written about, but I just didn’t do it.  Oh, I could make excuses like “we’ve had a few winter storms here” or “things at work have been busy” or even “Joshua turned 10,” but if I’m honest with myself I realize that they are just excuses.  It’s just another form of “avoiding homework.”  And yet, I also believe that procrastination is about more than just avoidance.  It can also be about working through things and waiting for the right time to do what needs to be done.

    I have always been one who keeps tab on my inward thoughts and feelings.  I’m usually aware when things are bothering or blessing me, and that in turn helps me to navigate the day to day.  I also have realized that at times, when I fall to distractions, there is usually a reason.  Often it means that the Spirit is moving inside trying to teach a lesson or reveal a new insight.  What I’ve experienced is that distractions can be a sign from God.  That they can be ways in which God moves us to another level of consciousness about ourselves and/or where God is leading.

    As I reflect over the past few weeks, I realize that, though there are many wonderful things happening at work and in my life, I also realize that it is indeed a time of change on many levels.  The church of which I am blessed to be pastoring is in a time of transition to a new administrative structure.  If I’m not careful, such change can make me gun-shy and easily distracted.

    I’m realizing that my children are getting older and changing themselves, which in turn means that I am getting older and changing myself.  It takes a little longer for me to recover from a long run, and the aches and pains are a little more frequent and prominent.  I’m going to my 20th college reunion!
    At the same time, as pastor I am blessed to be able to journey with folks along the roads of life.  Often that includes celebrations, but far more often it means journeying with them down hard, rocky roads.  It is indeed a holy privilege to be allowed into spaces where the rawness of life and death stand in stark reality, and yet that too can make one pause and/or want to avoid what comes with such situations.
    But time and time again, despite what I am facing, despite the fears or the procrastination, I have discovered that, if I just keep praying.  Just keep focusing.  Just keep thinking and reflecting upon the inner self, asking the “why” questions, and seeking the truth, that God finds a way.  God makes a way for clarity to come, and those distractions can be signs of God’s grace.

    St. Paul wrote, “Now we see in a mirror dimly, but then we will see face to face.”  His reference is that in this life we don’t see all we wish to see, but in the final days God will bless us to be able to see it all.  At least for me, the distractions and the propensity toward procrastination...it’s like seeing in a mirror dimly, but when clarity comes, it’s as if I receive a foretaste of what God will one day give us all – seeing and receiving all that God offers and more.

Where are the distractions in your life?  WHY are the distractions in your life?  Where is God in the midst of them?