We have been with Tom's mom (two hours away in Sheffield, Alabama--our hometown) 80- to 90% of the ensuing time up until now. There was much to clear up and to get done...as there always is after a death.
I had my computer with me, of course. I worked and kept things going with DPI. But one thing I realized was that it was very hard to stay focused. This was true in my time with God too. My rhythm was off, my schedule derailed, and my thinking distracted.
Today...this Monday morning, I had some good time with God (I decided to read back through DPI's first book: Thirty Days at the Foot of the Cross. That book and the scriptures it points me to always help me focus on the center of God's message.)
And I love being back in my office, at my desk, in front of my large-screen monitor. My to-do list is getting checked off with precision. I'm riding high in the saddle of productivity.
All this made me think of Jesus, a man who never once lost his focus--not even while in torturous pain, hanging on a cross. What love, what power, what confidence in God.
In Proverbs 4:20-27, Solomon gave his son instruction about staying focused:
My son, pay attention to what I say;
listen closely to my words.
Do not let them out of your sight,
keep them within your heart;
for they are life to those who find them
and health to a man's whole body.
Above all else, guard your heart,
for it is the wellspring of life.
Put away perversity from your mouth;
keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
Let your eyes look straight ahead,
fix your gaze directly before you.
Make level paths for your feet
and take only ways that are firm.
Do not swerve to the right or the left;
keep your foot from evil.
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Lord, help me to "look straight ahead," to stay focused on your words, and not to "swerve to the right or the left." Thank you for walking with me and lifting me up when I stumble. I need your help!
