Handling Distractions

I will admit that I’ve felt pulled in many different directions in the past few weeks since starting back as a teacher for fall for in person learning with teaching multiple grades while juggling my ” Mommy Teacher” role in having my daughters attend the same school with me. It’s also football season, so the first half of adjusting to my new work schedule was attending my son’s games. There are additional social obligations that have their own sets of demands of my time that add to my already hectic schedule. My distractions impacted me taking the full imitative in other areas of importance in being thrown off course. Thankfully, our church is doing a series on growing in prayer both corporately as a congregation and personally for spiritual growth which has helped me regain my focus. Life will always have something going on in one fashion or another to throw us off focus with distractions. God never promised that we wouldn’t encounter distractions, but the word of God is a blueprint to reel us back in line with organizing our priorities.

Psalms 119 : 15

I will meditate on your precepts
    and fix my eyes on your ways.

Common Distractions

I break my distractions down between what’s common everyday in actual responsibility to do. I also distinct between what isn’t necessarily important me to focus on for which I’m at fault for not being wise with my time. I sometimes struggle in setting appropriate boundaries with others in request of my time and other personal favors. My children are not a distraction. Children are a gift from the Lord. Can my children be distracting? Yes! I was just interrupted while typing this article to fix my 7 year old twins their 2nd snack for the day. However, kids will be kids, they don’t care that their mom is an aspiring writer. There are ways to assist them in being independent through guidance, making things more accessible for them to do on their own, and I can also adjust various family things like meals on my schedule. A unnecessary distraction would be swiping through my social media account feeds for hours being idol instead of doing the laundry.

Toxic Distractions

A toxic distraction would be adapting people pleasing tendencies in being afraid to set boundaries in attracting and maintaining demanding co-dependent connections with others, and if I allowed those relationships the power to rule my time for their convenience making me push major priorities in obligation to the sidelines. Distractions can be internal through bad thought patterns and habits that impact our confidence. I slow things down if I feel off my game with distractions to revaluate my focus, connections, and I start removing things off my plate with a big ” No” if need be.

God Makes Time

Have you ever said, ” There is just not enough time in a day?” I know I have thought it. The truth is we live in a busy world that presses us to expel our time to the limits. It’s up to us to reel things back in to make time to connect with our Heavenly Father in developing a personal relationship with him through prayer, study, and mediation. It’s hard to build any type of relationship without effort, and it goes with building our relationship with Christ as well. It’s up to us to slow things down in making sure we adopt self-love with applying self-care in taking time to nurture ourselves as mothers with the care we provide for others. It’s not easy running a family at all, but I’m learning as a single mother to create balance through guided instruction in teaching my kiddos how to grow independent, yet they are assured that I am still right by their side to help if need be. People will only go as far as we are willing to allow them to go with infringing on our time, space, and energy. We can’t live by fear as believers in Christ to share our concerns and walk in our truth if we know that anything or anyone is distracting us from our purpose, duties, or connecting sincerely in Christ. If you find yourself feeling anxious in feeling like there isn’t enough time in a day see what needs to be adjusted off your plate.