Easily Distracted

 

When Dusty, our late lamented dog, was young, she enjoyed riding shotgun with me when we would go to the castle or the river for a walk. She would sit up beside me, perky and excited for whatever adventure awaited.

I have a vivid memory of coming back from one such outing, with my trusty friend beside me. As we wended our way along our narrow road, we came upon a family of pheasants on the verge. Many of them took fright and rose up noisily, and as one beautiful cock pheasant glided across our path, Dusty watched, mesmerised, rising on her legs and following the flight of the bird with her whole body as it crossed the road…Dusty landed in my lap.

Oh, that dog did make me laugh. On a quiet country lane, I could smile at her antics. Wouldn’t have been so funny on a freeway…

Dusty was easily distracted not by what was important, but by whatever caught her eye.

I’m not so very different, I guess. I’m over my head in this genealogy, trying to make sense of how to lay out the information in a coherent, logical and easily-read manner. When I wake in the night, I have some of these far-distant relatives’ names going through my head.

And that’s what I am finding frustrating about this project. Instead of focusing on what lies before me, I’m distracted by what lies behind.

I’m praying for clarity of thought and vision as I collate the information collected over generations of my family, who seemed to enjoy ferreting out the information but weren’t so keen on producing a visual summary.

It’s all part of my push to tie up loose ends, to de-clutter and prepare to downsize at some time in the not-so-distant future.

Jesus warned us not to store things up in barns. His concern was that we could invest in things which could disappear overnight. My concern is that in trying to make sense of all that we have, I might lose sight of what is important: a deepening relationship with Jesus, so that I can finish well.

May I never be so distracted that I land, unceremoniously, on the side of the road.