Most days my alarm goes off at 5:30 and its time to tackle a
brand new day. I am supposed to be at
work by 8:30. In order for that to
happen, all must run smoothly and on schedule.
This means the girls get out of their bed on their 6:30 wake-up call and
they all get ready and eat breakfast, so that we are out the door by 7:25. There are so many opportunities for
distractions that get us off schedule:
meltdowns over the clothes selected the night before, sibling rivalry,
bathroom accidents, split milk, slow pokes, meltdown over the fact that we are
out of a certain kind of cereal, lies about whether we brushed our teeth or
not, missing library books, meltdown over absolutely nothing, and the list
could go on. Today was not one of those
mornings, everything went great at home, distractions were at a minimum, smiles
were on faces, and big girls were dropped off at 7:35 and Kate was dropped off
at 8:00, and barring no traffic issues I am good to go to get to work on time
(and as you will see later the perfectionist in me needs to be on time).
 |
| All smiles this morning! Distraction free..... |
Traffic is always a factor.
Yesterday it was slow and heavy mostly from rain, sometimes it is slow
and heavy because of accidents, but not today, traffic was running smooth. And then there are the trains. My commute takes me through two railroad
crossings and it seems that the trains always run at different times. Today was a two train day. I first got caught in Belmont and then again
on Sugar Creek. A smooth morning
derailed and brought to a sudden halt!
Distraction at the max and totally out of my control.
This week we journey toward the cross where we experience
God’s unconditional love. There are so
many things on this journey that distract us and bring us to a sudden
stop. Lent has been a time for
discerning the distractions that most often afflict us. Distractions like doubt, fear, insecurity,
and worry. For me the biggest
distraction of all is perfectionism.
When I strive for perfection, I always find myself falling
short. It distracts me and moves my
focus from God to myself. The past 6
weeks have been all about reflecting on God’s love for me. 1 John 4:18 says “There is no fear in love
and perfect love drives out fear.” God’s
love is perfect love. God’s love offers
life and drives out fear. My Lenten
journey has reminded me to accept the love God has for me. God’s love is complete and perfect and
desires a relationship with me just as I am.
God’s love drives out fear and frees me to love others. Perfectionism and fear tells me that I am not
good enough, smart enough, attractive enough, and the list could go on. Once Lent is over, perfectionism will continue
to distract me, and I will continue to reflect on God’s love as I seek to love
others. God invites me (and all of us) to be perfected in love.
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