D*I+S#T^R*A&C+T^I%O*N

Have you ever been talking with someone who had a chunk of food in their teeth, and you couldn't focus on what they were saying because you were so bothered by what was in their teeth? Have you ever sat in a lecture, and while you were trying to concentrate on the material, there is some high-pitched mechanical noise that you just wish they'd fix? Have your kids ever tried to tell you something, but you were working on a project on the computer, and didn't even realize they were talking to you?

I have to admit -- I have a SHORT attention span. If there is something to distract me, I'm going to be distracted by it. Here were the things that distracted me on the way to church yesterday morning:
1. I got out of my car in the church parking lot just before 7 a.m. The train was going through town. The train whistle was so horribly out of tune with itself, it was piercing to my ears. And it just kept getting louder and louder. I got inside as quickly as possible -- rather than enjoying the cool of the day and the beautiful moon that was out!
2. It was hot in the Sanctuary. Not just kind of hot -- really steamy hot! Every time I'd try to focus on something, my mind would wander back to my own comfort.
3. My daughter came in once again with a different outfit on than what I had picked out for her to wear -- and she had rolled around on her hair in the car so that, once again, it looked like it hadn't even been brushed. I was distracted about this moreso because I knew my mother was going to say something to me about it, and so I was bracing myself for when I saw her.

How selfish are those thoughts and reactions? My reaction SHOULD HAVE BEEN the following:
1. God -- thank you for this beautiful morning -- the weather, the moon -- this beautiful park that just opened next door.
2. God -- thank you for the freedom to worship you this morning with your people in this beautiful church building.
3. God -- thank you for my precious, free-spirited daughter. I am blessed to have her.

Here's the most shameful part about it -- I wasn't convicted until the 3rd service. I was sitting there in my seat, again focused on the heat. I realized the doors were open and I thought, "People are going to start walking by as they leave church, and it's going to be distracting to what Dr. Wiles is trying to preach." At that moment, two thoughts hit me:
1. When I was in Cuba, it was hot, all the windows were open-air. People were gathered throughout the church and street. There was more "noise" there, it was hot, everything was in a foreign language, and yet, I still worshipped.
2. It was as if God said, "You've been using excuse after excuse to be distracted all morning...are you going to continue to find excuses, or are you going to meet me in this place today?"

Then, I began to focus on the words of the Pastor. His message was incredible -- about faith, trust, reliance on God and not on self, and then....distraction. Casting ALL worries on God.

God is truly amazing. He can take us when we are at our most sinful, our gaze turned away. And yet, He let's us know, one way or another, that He desires our focus. He wants our attention. I'm so thankful that He is a jealous God, and that He desires, in fact delights in, that time spent with me.

Proverbs 3 is one of my favorite scripture passages. It talks about trusting the Lord completely, and He will guide our paths. But, further down, it talks of the Lord's discipline. I felt a little bit chastised yesterday. But I'm grateful for it. Here's what scripture tells me about it in 3:11-13.

"My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD or loathe His reproof, for whom the LORD loves He reproves, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights. How blessed is the man who finds wisdom and the man who gains understanding."

Thank you, Lord for loving us enough to remind us that you are LORD, and that You deserve our undivided attention when we are in community with you -- especially when we worship you. Thank you for loving us, delighting in us and being a jealous God who doesn't want us being poisoned by the things of this world, but rather filled with Your goodness that only comes from time spent with You. This week, help me to eliminate the things that distract me from You.