Distractions

 We love to go on hikes!  As I mentioned last post, we enjoyed The River Trail last week at O'Leno State Park.

 I told my kiddos to keep an eye out for the yellow markings to indicate that we are on the right path.  They loved spotting the yellow signs and the yellow paint on trees. I reminded them that in order to finish the trail we wanted to go on, we had to stay on the right path.

 Every so often we would come to a fork in the road and have to figure out which was the right path. I would remind my children to keep looking for the yellow to stay on the right path. There were several alternate routes that led somewhere else.  Sometimes the wrong trail would obviously go in a place we didn't want to go, like off the side of a cliff.

Other times, the alternate trail would look just like ours and seemed to look to be a great path to go down.  My Silas said, "Momma, all these other trails are just a distraction to try to get us off the right trail!"

 I thought about how right he was and how true to life that statement was.   We as Christian Mommas don't usually get thrown off course by the obvious, wrong way paths.  It's the path that looks like it would be just as good as the right one that seems to throw us off.

Throughout our day we have distractions.

 It might be a distraction to hit you first thing in the morning as you seek to have quiet time with the Lord. Your mind wanders to the things for the day and you find yourself making a to-do list for the next 3 months!

  It might be a distraction during your prayer time and your mind wanders to other things. Without realizing it, you've sat for 15 minutes thinking about which cake to bake for your little ones birthday!

 It might be a distraction in the middle of the day when a friend is on your heart, so you check social media to see how they are doing and end up checking on many other things as well.

I may have been guilty of some of these....and maybe all in the same day!  Of course, there is nothing wrong with to-do lists, baking cakes and social media.  But, if we are not careful, they take the place of what we are to be doing at that very moment.  They take us off the clearly marked path. They, just like anything else, can become a distraction.  Satan would like nothing more than for us to be distracted with seemingly good things that prevent us from spending each moment as the Lord would have us to live.

 What a good reminder my Silas was to me to keep in check the moments the Lord has given to me.  I don't want to be distracted and going down an alternate route.  I want to stay on course for what the Lord would have for me to do!  I want each moment to be on the exact path the Lord would have me on.  His way is perfect!  Lord, guide my steps!