HONK. HONK.
“Get out of the way!”
[Unladylike hand gesture]
HONK. HONK.
“Move over!”
HONK. HONK.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“Why drive slow in the fast lane?”
HONK. HONK.
Loud music.
Heads nodding.
Phones ringing.
Fingers texting.
The sights and sounds of traffic.
Living in a small rural community, I don’t have to experience much of the above scenario. If someone honks at us, we naively ask “were they honking at us? Did I know them?” Or we realize we sat too long at a stoplight and want to wave and sheepishly apologize for causing them a half-second delay on movement.
But in a city, this is the norm and people hear noise and see traffic daily and they have to learn to deal with it in their own way in order to get to their destination.
In life, we have traffic and loud noises and people disrespecting other people; people doing things they shouldn’t that cause us to feel more and more distracted. We start focusing on the traffic and the noises instead of the purpose of the trip and the destination. We need to find a new route – one that doesn’t have as much traffic and distracting noises. We need to focus on Jesus.
When life seems too distracting with noises and bumper to bumper traffic, take a new route. Maybe what we are doing just doesn’t seem to be working like it used to because there’s more distractions. Maybe a quiet, short Bible reading in the morning used to be enough for you to get through the day but now there is more noise in your life and more traffic distracting you and you need a deeper study or more quiet time with the Lord.
The other morning I got up earlier than normal to take my assigned turn for 15-minute prayer time on National Day of Prayer. When I got up, it was still dark so I decided not to turn on any lights during this time and just sit straight up and pray – no falling asleep; no getting distracted by the things around me that needed eventual attention. It was the BEST 20 minutes of the day. Yes I prayed longer than my assigned time because I had a lot to talk to God about and usually I get up and read my daily reading, write my blog and talk to God for a few minutes about the day ahead. But that day, I talked……..and listened……and meditated. I found a different route away from the distracting noises and visuals and traffic of the day.
This new route still gets me to my destination but the journey is a whole lot less stressful! Think about finding yourself a new route if the traffic and distractions have made you numb to the journey!
John 14:6 – Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the light. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
