Have you ever had an evening when you are in the mood to pray, think about God, and study, but everything in the world seems to distract you from it? That was this evening for me. It seems like today every door was closed for me to spend time with God, but then it helped me realize something. Sometimes distractions can actually help us think about what is keeping us from being closer to God. Some of these distractions are part of our vocation (wife, children, jobs, etc.), some of these are other responsibilities (pets, chores, etc.), some are sinful (greed, lust, gluttony, etc.), but most of them are purely entertainment (movies, music, sports, etc.). I think in many cases we can use these distractions to also help us draw closer to God. Spend time in prayer with your wife/husband and children, use pets to think about God's blessings and creation, listen to music that helps you contemplate God. Even with things like lust, when it occurs, take time to pray for the object of that desire. We should look at our distractions as an opportunity to slow down our lives and become closer to God in whatever way is possible.
I can definitely say that this is one area in which I have not improved over the last year. Distractions still seem to find me all the time when I am trying to pray. It seems like sometimes we look for something we'd rather be doing........this is definitely something I need to reflect and work on; re-examining myself next year to see if any improvation has been made.
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