Distracted – Devotion 112

I have been trying to write and I keep getting distracted.  It is not unusual for me to encounter distractions.  Usually I close the door, move to another room, turn on a sound machine or simply tune out what is going on.  My mind goes 100 miles an hour all the time, so I have learned how to deal with that distraction.  But today…today there is a distraction I can’t seem to shake, tune out or ignore.  I tried several different strategies but this particular distraction isn’t budging.  So I stopped to simply be.

Today’s distraction is Leo.  It is normal for Leo to want to be near me when I am working.  If I am on my phone, I know he will come by and nudge my arm at least once to get my attention.  He sits by me when I am typing.  All of this is usual and expected.  Today, though, he decides he will be climbing up in my lap.  That sounds fine unless you know Leo is over 50 lbs and I am sitting at the kitchen table in a small chair.  But don’t think that deters him, because it doesn’t.  He manages to wedge himself into the chair and is determined not to move.  So I have the bright idea that I will move to the couch.  That way, we can sit together and I can still work.  Sounds great, doesn’t it?  It wasn’t exactly what Leo had in mind.  I sat down and he sat right in my lap – no working on the laptop for me.  So I finally gave up and just sat with him.  He wanted my attention and he got it.

I wonder how many joys I miss because I am so focused on what I am doing.  I wonder what I miss when my attention is to accomplish and achieve.  Leo teaches me that sometimes we must stop and just be.  He reminds me that it can be good to be distracted and to just relax.  I am reminded that God is at work and sometimes I see that best when I simply stop and listen.  May you find good distractions today.

Focus Scripture:

Psalm 131

¹ O Lord, my heart is not lifted up,
my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.
² But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
my soul is like the weaned child that is with me.^[a]

³ O Israel, hope in the Lord
from this time on and forevermore.

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