Practical Parenting from Proverbs, Chapter Four
Back to Proverbs. As I read Chapter Four, a couple of verses jumped out at me. Verse 23, about guarding one's heart, but even more applicable to me as a mom was verse 25, "Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you." Well, do you think I can remember that? Look straight ahead; in other words stay focused. No venturing down bunny trails.
But do you know how many rabbit trails appear in my life every day? I have been trying to wipe sticky spots off my white tile kitchen floor (don't even ask...) for the past three days. But first I have to vacuum and I haven't even managed to accomplish that! Every time I get the last crumb sucked into the vacuum (with a water filter that ends up really smelling bad after it sits unemptied for a couple of days...) I get distracted and don't immediately proceed to the mopping. By then a cat has thrown up, a child eaten a cookie or two,or popcorn has overflowed the microwave, necessitating another go round with the vacuum. Heck, by then there's more sticky stuff on the floor anyway...
The mail arrives, the phone rings, "you've got mail" is announced by a generic male radio announcer sounding voice from my computer and I notice the electric bill still hasn't been mailed. If I don't get it out by Monday, it will sit some more, because postage is going up again and I don't have any one cent stamps.
So where was I? Getting distracted and not hanging in there with the priorities which make up the straight and narrow of my life. Staying focused on listening to how school went; acknowledging the 100 on the spelling pre-test with more than a glazed over stare into outer space mumbling unm-hmmmmmm; sitting down to have a snack instead of just setting out a glass of milk; in other words cultivating relationships which are time consuming and so easily derailed.
As a mom I multi-task way too much, so this verse serves as a helpful reminder to stay focused on what lies ahead, straight ahead; not to the right,not to the left; and not three or four things at the same time, but simply the value and the beauty of the moment.
But do you know how many rabbit trails appear in my life every day? I have been trying to wipe sticky spots off my white tile kitchen floor (don't even ask...) for the past three days. But first I have to vacuum and I haven't even managed to accomplish that! Every time I get the last crumb sucked into the vacuum (with a water filter that ends up really smelling bad after it sits unemptied for a couple of days...) I get distracted and don't immediately proceed to the mopping. By then a cat has thrown up, a child eaten a cookie or two,or popcorn has overflowed the microwave, necessitating another go round with the vacuum. Heck, by then there's more sticky stuff on the floor anyway...
The mail arrives, the phone rings, "you've got mail" is announced by a generic male radio announcer sounding voice from my computer and I notice the electric bill still hasn't been mailed. If I don't get it out by Monday, it will sit some more, because postage is going up again and I don't have any one cent stamps.
So where was I? Getting distracted and not hanging in there with the priorities which make up the straight and narrow of my life. Staying focused on listening to how school went; acknowledging the 100 on the spelling pre-test with more than a glazed over stare into outer space mumbling unm-hmmmmmm; sitting down to have a snack instead of just setting out a glass of milk; in other words cultivating relationships which are time consuming and so easily derailed.
As a mom I multi-task way too much, so this verse serves as a helpful reminder to stay focused on what lies ahead, straight ahead; not to the right,not to the left; and not three or four things at the same time, but simply the value and the beauty of the moment.
Labels: distraction, focused, priorities
posted by www.kathypride.com at
11:05 PM
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