Distractions

Matthew 14:22-33

As a new parent, it has been a trip to watch Zoë in a very brief amount of time, grow exponentially in her awareness and curiosity about things going on around her. She is also crawling now, so she wants to be every where (but mostly under her parents feet or near them wherever we are).

When my daughter was an infant, feeding her was pretty simple: she was hungry and she would get a bottle. Infant Zoë had laser focus on the task of eating. Zoë would eat until the bottle was empty. This, of course, got somewhat tiresome when for the first few months of her life she had to be held AND the bottle had to be held in order to feed her.

It was really nice when she began demonstrating her ability to hold her own bottle. But as that occured, and as Zoe's awareness of the world around her (and her actual sight) sharpened, something began to happen. The bottle wouldn't always get finished--something that was surprising given how loud Zoë's demand for food could sometimes be!

But when I started watching Zoë eat, it became clear what was going on. Not only is Zoë getting taller and bigger, Zoë's brain is also growing. Zoë's ability to process what she sees and hears is developing at a rapid clip. And at her age, suddenly things that used to be blurry and not food weren't that interesting to her as an infant, were suddenly very engaging.

Zoë is getting distracted while eating. And this of course makes me, her dad with ADHD, chuckle because don't I know just how tough it can be NOT to be distracted by all of the shiny objects all around us!

In Matthew 14, after feeding the five thousand, we witness Jesus miraculously walking on water and scaring the snot out of the disciples who had gone out on a boat earlier and met rough seas. In this story, we find Peter who, upon witnessing Jesus, had Jesus prove it was him by having Peter join him on the water.

So Jesus wasn't the only one who did a miracle--for Peter too ended up walking on water! It says in scripture that "Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus." And then something strange happens. Something that made me think about Zoë's eating habits: Peter got distracted.

"But when he noticed the strong wind, Peter became frightened, and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, 'You of little faith, why did you doubt?'"

Peter made it all the way from the boat close enough to Jesus that Jesus was able to simply reach out his hand to grab him. Peter was inches from the finish line. He did something miraculous, but all of that fell apart when he was distracted by the winds.

What ways are you feeling like life's distractions are keeping you from making it all the way to Jesus' embrace? Bitterness and unresolved anger can be a distraction. Anxiety over things that haven't happened yet can cause us to turn away from the progress we are making in becoming close with God. Exhaustion, overwork and an addiction to being productive as a way of being "good" can distract us from how God desires us to rest.

What is distracting you these days? Whatever it might be I invite you to remember that, just like Peter, you are just within arms reach of Jesus!