I read an article yesterday that reminded me of the brevity of life and the distractions we allow to steal precious time from those who matter most.

The little rascals running around my house won’t always be little. The day is approaching when they won’t ask me to watch the tricks they can do on their bikes. They won’t always want me to play with them, or lay beside them as they fall asleep. There will come a day they’ll no longer need my help reaching the top cabinet or opening a new jar of pickles. I won’t always be able to pick them up, and they’ll arrive at the age when they won’t need me to care for their “boo boos” or protect them from the invisible monsters that lurk in the darkness.

However, I have been so guilty of allowing those precious moments to pass because I have to look up one more thing on my phone. I have to check the weather, check the price of something on Amazon, or research something that is of no importance. I always tell myself I’ll just look quickly and be done, but the initial distraction is riddled with more distractions that suck me deeper into its bottomless pit. Those few seconds have suddenly turned into minutes and sometimes hours, leaving me feeling empty, guilty, and unfulfilled.

I am in no way “villainizing” smart phones or tablets (anything can be a distraction). They are neutral, inanimate objects that only do what we tell them to do. The problem lies in our hearts, and that is where the issue must be resolved. The fruit in the Garden of Eden was not evil; it merely appealed to the selfishness in Eve’s heart. God did not remove the distraction because he has always wanted us to choose to love and obey. Technology is an incredible tool, but a tool is controlled by the hands that hold it (not vice versa). A tool is not a distraction but used only when necessary to accomplish a specific task and put away when the task is finished. (How often do you see families sitting around tables at restaurants staring at their hammers?) My phone can be an incredible tool, but I often allow it to be more than a tool -I allow it to be a distraction, an escape from my reality.

I want to leave you with the article I read, and I pray it challenges you enough to decide to walk away from the distractions and toward the things that really matter. God bless you in your journey of growth.

What my iPhone Stole from Me