“She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made…” (Luke 10:39-40)

I often get so distracted by the busyness of work and meeting all the obligations I’ve signed up for – things like volunteering at church, for Bible study, for my state writing association, and for a local senior center – that I lose focus of the important things in my life – namely, the people.

I find myself distracted from my relationship with the Lord in the same way that I let myself get sidetracked from developing or sustaining relationships with those around me. I start out with the best of intentions. I plan to pray through my prayer list each day. I plan to stick with a devotional reading plan and a daily Bible reading plan. I plan to start a new Bible study. I plan to volunteer more at church. Then, the worries of life crowd in and I feel overwhelmed by all the things I had planned. It’s not that my plans are bad; it’s that my focus is in the wrong place – on me and how much I can accomplish.

God doesn’t want our best intentions, and he doesn’t want us to make more plans. He just wants us – all of us, listening to him, following him. When we find ourselves distracted and overwhelmed by life, we need to turn back to him and ask him to help us. It’s okay to step down from obligations that are draining our time and energy and keeping our focus in the wrong place. We should ask him to show us where to focus our efforts. He’ll lift our burdens, help us let go of the distractions, and help us balance our lives so that he is at the center, giving us strength.

Dear Jesus, show us any obligations that are taking us away from you. Show us how to balance our lives so that we are more focused on you than on the works we can do. Help us to choose you. Amen.