Distractions

There are hoards of things that compete in my mind for the space God deserves. Unlike the Israelites at the beginning of Saul’s reign, my distractions are not responsible for the downfall of nations. They do get me sidetracked from serving God in the most productive ways possible.

The Israelites in 1 Samuel 13 had let the Philistines strip them of their skilled metal workers. At first it probably appeared that it was a small concession for peace to let the Philistines have all the metal workers. The Philistines had basically said, “You will send all your skilled iron craftsmen to us and we will make what you need for you, and we will not come against you in war.” The Israelites were lulled into thinking that it was a good trade. The Philistines, however, were being sneaky and taking away the opportunities for the Israelites to make anything out of metal for their use. This was especially dire when king Saul decided to fight against the Philistines and push them out of the Promised Land. The Israelites were left with wooden implements (mostly farming implements) as weapons, no match for the swords and spears the Philistines had available to them. It is likely that Israelite craftsmen were actually making the weapons that would destroy Israel!

While the Philistines were quietly making it impossible for the Israelites to make physical weapons of war that could be used to fight in God’s name, there are also subtle things sneaking into my life that render me less effective for God. Most of these things are time consumers or time wasters. Some are attitudes and things I allow to corrupt my thoughts and lead me away from God’s truth.

Can you think of any of those things in your own lives? Mindless activities serve a purpose – when they do not interfere with developing a closer walk with God. I enjoy watching television in the evenings when my mind is tired and I’m physically tired out from the day’s activities. Yet I also watch TV when I could be worshipping and praising God, when I could be praying for my concerns or the concerns of others. I often think I’ve done enough and God will let me off the hook for further learning about Him for the day. Yet I am not totally at peace within my soul and therefore there is more space for Him to fill me. That doesn’t happen by watching TV or playing solitaire on my phone.

I want to intentionally change and trust God to help me not let “sneaky” things interrupt my relationship with Him. I want to intentionally be filled with the Holy Spirit in such a way as to be more useful in God’s battles. I don’t want to be caught without my spears and swords.

Mindfulness

I have a life long struggle I’m going to let you in on. Mindfulness. What am I talking about when I say mindfulness? I’m talking about giving my attention to the task at hand, one at a time, not allowing distractions to get in the way of serious thought and action toward the given task. I was told recently that this is not unique to me. There’s actually an enormous amount of scholarly research on this topic. Why? Because all humans suffer from not being mindful to some extent. Some worse than others.

I have spent a lot of time in my lifetime avoiding mindfulness. Not wanting to confront problems head on, avoiding possible painful (and often pleasurable) experiences, are just two reasons mindfulness is not a skill I have readily available to me. I actually went to some extremes to remain mindless including drinking, dissociating, even day dreaming when I was supposed to be confronting a situation with my full attention.

However, I’ve been told (and am coming to believe) that mindfulness is a desirable state to be in. I’m not totally convinced yet, but I’m dabbling in trying to be more mindful to see if the quality of my life changes. The research indicates that the more mindful a person is, the greater their enjoyment of the things that make up life.

I also discovered that mindfulness is a characteristic of God. Psalm 8:4 in the Amplified Bible says, “What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of [earthborn] man that You care for him?” It’s amazing to me to realize that God does mindfulness perfectly and constantly. It’s just a fact for Him. I know how hard it is for me to remain mindful for even short periods of time, yet God does it all the time. And, what is He mindful of? Mere man. As Psalm 8:4 implies, man is not worthy of the Almighty God’s thoughts. Yet He chooses to be thinking about us and concentrating on mankind.

I feel like I can try being mindful a little more often. I’m especially thinking, “If God can be mindful of me, I can try to concentrate more and with better quality upon God.” I can spend five more minutes reading and meditating on His Word. I can spend a few more minutes in concentrated prayer. And if I can learn to do that, I can learn to be mindful in other areas of my life. So here’s to practicing mindfulness.

Dispersing the Darkness

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Today, I feel kind of down. Not sure what it is exactly, but I know that it feels like the gloom will never go away.

But, what it feels like and what the truth is are two different things. I know that the darkness I feel is only due to an error in my thinking. God promised us light and in that light, darkness is pushed away. I have to seek out the light and it will come.

I know the darkness does not have to be permanent. Scripture says, “God is light, pure light, there’s not a trace of darkness in Him” (1 John 1:5, from The Message). If there is not darkness in Him, there should be no darkness or down feelings in me because He is in my life. He pushes away darkness – if I let Him. If I choose to dwell in the down feelings, the gloom, then the darkness will persist.

I don’t always know how to dispel the darkness. Prayer helps sometimes. More often just getting busy helps me push them aside. Sometimes talking to another person helps. When all else fails, a good cry is often in order. However, I don’t cry often, maybe not often enough. I’m often afraid that the gloomy feelings will last forever so I don’t want to do anything that might make that seem true. Crying is one of those things that make me feel like the gloom will never lift.

Today, the down feelings are persisting and I’ve already tried praying . . . worked for the few moments I could concentrate. Crying doesn’t seem like the right thing right now . . . there’s nothing specific to cry about. I could call someone on the phone . . . but they will want to know what’s wrong and I can’t think of anything. So, I’m left without an idea about what to do . . . except to get busy doing something which is why I’m writing this blog article. Although writing this article hasn’t necessarily helped reduce the down feelings, it has kept me busy for a few moments. That has lessened the intensity of the feelings.

I know some would say it’s okay to just let myself feel down. I know that it’s okay. I just don’t like it, especially when I can’t figure out why I’m feeling down in the first place. I want to have a reason. I want to be able to pinpoint it and say, “Ah, so I’m afraid of something,” or “Oh, maybe I’m not feeling physically well.” But, I don’t think that is the case today. Today I just feel down.

Maybe a nap will help . . .

Healthy Distractions

I’ve been dealing with some physical illness as of late, mostly unexplained nausea and stomach upset. I’ve taken the necessary steps to try to deal with the illness by seeing doctors and getting tests run and scheduled. The problem is it takes a long time for some of the tests to get done. I’m waiting right now for a test that won’t get done until mid March. That’s a long time away yet to deal with nausea on an almost daily basis.

So, how does someone cope with physical illness over a long period of time? I’m sure there are many who have dealt with this in their lives, but I have a few tricks I’ve been learning. I call them my distractions. They are good, worthwhile, distractions and allow me to live beyond the symptoms for short periods of time. Being able to do that is probably helping me keep my sanity.

One thing I recently discovered is covering one physical discomfort with another physical discomfort – but one that is good for me. So I’ve recently started using the treadmill that has been collecting dust in our family room. Exercise is good for me in so many ways. Even though I’m not walking miles and miles or for long periods of time, the actual motion keeps me distracted from the other ailments long enough to get in some exercise. I’ve found I can easily walk for 15 minutes and during that 15 minutes I don’t notice the nausea because I’m noticing the movement of the treadmill and the movement of my legs more so. That’s a healthy distraction.

Also, I’ve noticed that writing helps me distract from the way I’m feeling physically. Sometimes it’s as deep as a chat on Facebook – not really very deep. But sometimes it’s writing a longer piece like this blog that keeps me focused on something besides the physical pain. Even though I’m indirectly writing about the pain, the actual act of writing causes me to think about the mechanics and grammar of writing and the physical pain becomes less noticeable. Whether I’m writing an email, a journal entry, a chat, or my blog, writing is a worthwhile distraction.

Artwork is another way I distract. Whether it’s doodling or drawing something concrete and realistic, drawing distracts from the physical pain I might be experiencing. Sometimes I just sketch in black and white but more often I use colors to brighten the page, which in turn brightens my mood. I like drawing colorful outdoor scenes for instance. One of my favorites recently is on the top of this post. Cardinals on a winter’s morning give a splash of red in an otherwise dreary day. That’s what doing artwork does for my physical ailments. It gives a distraction to the dreary day.

Prayer is another way I distract. Focusing on the needs of others by praying for them gets the focus off of me. When I’m not focusing on me, I’m less likely to be caught up in the pain or discomfort I’m experiencing. On top of the relief it brings me, prayer is useful. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much (James 5:16). So I try to be an effective woman and pray. That’s a great distraction for me and can be a help to many others.

Do you have ways you distract from physical pain or discomfort? What are some of those? Leave a comment and share so we might all give them a try next time we need a healthy distraction.