The Value of Distraction- Part Four of Prioritize Your Life Series

I cannot tell you how many times I have set down at my desk to write and something distracts me. It may be an e-mail, a Tweet, a text, or a Facebook post. Since I work at home, it could also be one of my children needing something, my Mother-in-Law wanting to talk, or my dog needing to go out. 

Distractions happen. 

These are the small things, and like the old adage, I try not to sweat the small things. What about the big things? 

What about a lost job, or a failed friendship? What about a sick child or a church split? These can be HUGE distractions. 

These things need to be addressed and even handled. These distractions (read test and trials) may make your priorities take a back seat FOR A MOMENT, but the reward of going through them may be greater than you think when they first rear their ugly head. 

James says this: “My brothers and sisters think of the various tests you encounter as occasions for joy. After all, you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. Let this endurance complete its work so that you may be fully mature, complete, and lacking in nothing.”(CEB Version) 

Priorities are Standards 

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Priorities are standards. They are the things we hold in high regard. Our focus however can shift. Focus should be fluid. 

Think of driving a car. 

Your priorities in a car are: 

1. Arrive at your destination 
2. Drive Safely 
3. Obey Traffic Laws 

Your hands and feet are fully engaged in the tasks of steering and accelerating/braking. Your eyes however are roaming, fluidly, back and forth. They send signals to your brain that tell your hands and feet what to do. They see the car that is pulling out of McD’s drive-thru and they see the red light up ahead. They notice the baby in the back is gearing up for a raging fit and they see the toddler peeling the tint off the car window. 

Now, you could see those things as a distraction to your first priority, “arrive at your destination” or you could see these things as an opportunity to practice your skills as a driver and “drive safely”. 

The Value of Distraction

Sometimes distractions are worth it. Sometimes they are the thing that teaches us new things. Sometimes distractions are the way God reaches us when we need a little nudge of correction or redirection. 

Your priority remains the same. It will always be there. Sometimes it is not about where you are going, as much as how you get there. 

Enjoy the ride. 

How do you handle distractions?