distractions

the most priceless of moments have happened on our living room floor during family bible study. this morning, though, we no one could seem to shake the distractions. one daughter couldn't stop playing with her zu zu pets who were joining us for study (and when one of them went off all by itself during our prayer, it made the girls giggle so much that we all got sidetracked). one daughter had her eyes and her mind glued to the leftover muffin on the kitchen counter that she wasn't allowed to finish until study was over. and the other daughter wanted to make the most of the opportunity when everyone older than her had their eyes closed during prayer and she could sneak a chew of the remote. and the mother was distracted by the passing time on the clock, knowing the family would be late to where they were going next, and the long list of things to do to get them packed and loaded into the car.

i caught myself getting frustrated with all three of these daughters and even with myself that we couldn't set aside just a few moments to worship together without distraction. there i was getting angry at the zu zu pet. angry at the muffin. angry at the remote that got thrown to the ground and too close to the baby. angry that i hadn't started the study earlier knowing i would be pressed for time later. all these things took away my focus thus taking away my undivided attention (and devotion for that matter) from the very reason why we join together in our living room in the first place.

distractions. how disappointing must it be for our god to watch us play with our zu zu pets, think about our muffins, desire the remote as a chew toy, or watch the clock and make to-do lists in our minds when what we should really being focusing on is HIM.