Distractions

I learned something this morning. As I went for a run with my older dog, hoping to do well, but not expecting any miracles, I donned my new cell phone with MP3 player playing Billy Joel and hit the sidewalk. I had it up full blast in my ear phones, as I have some hearing loss. I learned that when you run with loud music in your ears, you are oblivious to the things around you. Not real good for a woman running alone, but the neighborhood is fairly safe and I did have a German Shepherd and a phone with me and I know several neighbors I can inconvenience if need be.

As I ran, I couldn't hear birds, dogs barking and best of all my own breathing. In the past my heavy breathing had a psychological effect on my performance I think. I would think, "I'm really huffing and puffing, I better walk for a while." Today I ran almost a mile. The only sensations I had were what I saw and any pain. It was weird, though, seeing my dog react to things she heard like dogs barking, (she would speed up and look at a fence), or an approaching car (she would look behind her). My eyes reacted to her ears and eyes. I became very dependent on her senses, rather than being concerned about what I heard and protecting both of us. It was rather freeing to get rid of all the distractions and just run. I was encouraged to see I could run better than I thought after all this time.

This morning's experience made me wonder what we would be able to accomplish without distractions in our lives. What could we do for God if we didn't have that voice whisper, "Don't do that, it isn't safe. You could get hurt. Think of your family and their safety. What would this do to your children? The risk is too high. They won't accept you. It will take too much effort and there still is no guarantee of success. Look what happened to them when they did something like this. God's not really calling you to do that, is He? It's all in your head. You made that up. Why would God put you there, when things are going so well here and you're so comfortable? Everyone is so happy. You might die."

If we could eliminate the distractions and the fear caused by them, how far could we run? How fast? What distractions and keeping you at the gate? Turn up the sweet music of God's voice and go for it! Blessings the gorgeous day!