Distractions

This morning, I decided to ride my bicycle around for some exercise. You have to seize the opportunity to do so when the rain lets up! I usually ride with my backpack and just soak in the sounds of the town: chickens, dogs, cows, local language, and stares! But, today I was thinking... I really just wanna listen to some music. I brought my iPod with me. This is the first time I've been on a bike ride and not had to listen to the sounds of the town. I could see things, but I couldn't hear anything but Maroon 5.

When I got back home a few hours later, I got my journal out and started writing down some thoughts. I was thinking about how easy it was for me to tune out the world around me. Just pop in my headphones and escape for a while. Here, versus America, it's kind of hard to escape from things. You can't just go to the movies, malls, and entertainment centers that are on every corner in America. Everything is on the front porch of your mind, and there's no running from it. I started to think about times back home when I'd be somewhere with my friends and they'd all be glued to their smart phones. We were together physically, but not mentally or emotionally. So much for quality time!!

So, what am I going to do when I get back to America? Will I get distracted? Will I constantly fill my mind with things other than what really matters? I'm no fortune teller, so I cannot say what I will or will not do, but I am concerned about going back to that world. It seems so detached and scary. It seems inauthentic and robotic. Yet, I know all the people glaring at their screens are thinking something... They're feeling something... When they lay down to sleep at night, things in their world get quiet. I know this, because I've had many a night when I'd do the same thing.

What if we purposefully threw our distractions out the window in light of something with more purpose?

What if we hit the brakes and dealt with ourselves, our sin, our past, our hurts, our offenses against others, and the things that hold us back?

What if we choose to stop being detached?

Things could change. We could change.

And I believe the fire would spread relentlessly.

Friends, I've been forced to change. And that is an understatement! Haha! Living here has made me open up my eyes to a whole lot of needs that not only I have to take care of for myself, but needs of others around me. If I could make some prescription glasses that shared this new vision so easily, I'd do it in a heartbeat. All I'm asking the father is that he changes my eyesight so much that it cannot go back to what it used to be. And, I'm starting to take full responsibility for the way that I chose/choose to distract myself.

This is just what I've been chewing on lately. Now, you can chew on it too.