Distractions

When my sister, Molly, was little my family would go often go skiing at the local ski resort.  On this particular trip Molly, who was 6 at the time, was skiing with my mom and younger sister Amy. During one of their trips up the hill they ran into my brother Micaiah and some of their friends. When Molly saw them all together she decided she wanted to go with them instead of with Mom. Mom, however, wanted her to stay with her and Amy so she told her no. Molly didn’t like this to much so when Mom wasn’t looking she took off with Micaiah and her friends.  

Now you have to understand Molly is typically a very obedient and complacent child, which is why this behavior was very unexpected. I’m sure in those moments when my mom realized that Molly was gone she immediately felt that sick, sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach that only comes from losing a child. For anyone who’s lost a child, no matter how short a duration, those feelings will be remembered as the most horrible, gut-wrenching feelings they’ve ever experienced, it’s a moment forever etched in memory. 

My mom searched those hills top to bottom trying to find my sister and when she finally did, she found Molly in tears. Molly knew that what she had done was wrong and the guilt was eating away at her. She told Mom through her tears that she was sorry and that she knew she was wrong.  Mom was of course happy to have found Molly and also happy to know that Molly had realized that what she had done was wrong and was remorseful for having disobeyed.

I think this story applies to many of our lives. We tend to leave God because we see something we want more. We’re easily distracted by life’s pleasures and promises.  In the movie “UP,” Dug, a talking dog, is speaking to another character with great enthusiasm. While talking he is distracted mid-sentence by a squirrel and suddenly shouts out. He doesn’t care that he is talking only that something interesting caught his eye. Just like Dug we’re easily distracted from our relationship with God. Something interesting crosses our view and suddenly all it’s all we can think about. Just like Molly we leave God for the something we think we desire more (maybe not always intentionally), but really all we need and want is him. Without him we find we’re lost and alone even among those we know. The good news is that while we may have left him, he never left us. He still there just waiting for us to turn around and run back into his arms.