Welcome back to another edition of Struggling Well. We're glad you've joined us again this week. And as we continue you on with it these talks these times with you all are really born out of conversations that Suzi and I are having on a regular daily basis and as God puts different things on our hearts as God stirs things in our minds. We tend to share them with each other and some of them we get to share with you all and Suzi you have one that God has laid on your heart recently that you want to make the subject of this week's podcast.
I do but before I go there I want to I want to thank you as my husband for being willing to hear me at my craziest at all times and I really appreciate that. I think we started years and years ago and we may have mentioned this on the podcast before but when our kids were little and we found that we were like two ships in the night. We weren't able to connect or have conversation and you know what that's like most of you especially if you have young kids is like when are you and your spouse going to get time to talk? and so I don't even know how this came about, but we decided that we would take 10 minutes when you got home from work and we would go to a secluded space. Mostly it was in our bedroom and we'd lock the door and our three daughters would be sitting outside the door wailing like they were dying and we would just kind of debrief with each other. And it started this pattern and now here we are married. It'll be 50 years this June. Woo. I can't believe that.
I know.
It's amazing. But we still to this day whenever Jim is gone or I'm gone. We sit in our family room and debrief and just talk about what's hit us through the day. what has been hard, what has been stirring. so I would encourage you guys in your marriages or with your kids just take time every day or as often as you can to kind of debrief.
Yeah. And I mean it for us the primary reason for doing it was it just gave us a chance to connect but I think it also sent a message to our kids that they are not the center of the world. They're not the center of our world. as hard as that is sometimes to believe, when you're raising kids because the demands are there, you can take time for yourself. So, anyway, all that being said,
all that being said, the idea of distractions are what we have been talking about lately. And the reason why I went back to you and me and when we started that debriefing every day is because it was easy as a mom and easy as you as a dad having worked all day to come home and have all the distractions of our day separate us
as opposed to drawing us together. And I think that the same is true in our relationship with the Lord that distractions separate us. Now there are minor distractions like you know the washer stopped working there it's time to cook dinner the child needs something you're there's lots of distractions like that but then I think that there is there's more than that. It's an internal thing. and I have found in the last few months and it started for me during Lent when we were challenged at church to put aside something and in that case I think it was media. We were put aside media and I don't I didn't realize how much I am distracted by my phone which is I'm not bringing up a new subject. We all understand this scrolling and looking things up and you can spend hours on your phone, on your computer, wherever, and be distracted. But what I realized is that these distractions were having an impact on my soul. And so I was allowing distractions and we'll fight this till the day I die because I'm sure I have some kind of attention issue of some kind. Would you agree, babe?
Absolutely. Yeah, you can comment. So I wrote this in my journal. As I allow distractions to rob my days and my attention, it strike me, it strikes me as a quiet rebellion against God. And like David, I feel haunted by that. I feel haunted by the sin of allowing things to distract me. Hours of waste that can never be given back. Why do I allow myself to be distracted away from God for frivolous things? And that could be anything. I mean, silly things. And real things like I met with a young friend last week who I don't know if she listens to this podcast I hope she does she's a dear friend of mine gives the best hugs ever and she and I had lunch and we had a wonderful time and I asked her a question about what was she doing to feed her soul and she said as most young mothers do and young dads I think I just I don't have time to spend a lot of time with the Lord but we went on to talk about her schedule and she's a cool girl. Like, she wants to hear the truth. And I found myself backing off the truth a little bit because I want to I thought I was going to encourage her, but I think what I did was not give her the whole truth. But she began telling me about her schedule. She works some, but she also plays tennis and it's great. She's in great shape. She is healthy for her children and her husband. But I thought about the things like tennis and other wonderful things that I will give my time to. I'll give an hour, two hours or more and I and but yet I come back and say but I don't have time to spend with the Lord.
Yeah. And you know we're at a different point in our life than your younger friend and through maybe many who are listening to this podcast who are getting up every day going to work. I find myself with a lot of time on my hand. and my question for myself has been why would I turn on a game on TV, watch a game between two teams that I have no interest in them as teams or I have no interest in the event, but I'll do that as opposed to cracking open my Bible and spending some time reading that. And so, for whatever reason, I my go-to is usually something to, distract. There's that word again. Or
Yeah. Maybe just to pass time and escape. but why is it always not always, but most of the time it doesn't have anything to do with opening my Bible or opening a good book and reading opening the Bible, reading about the Lord, what he wants to say to me. I think it's true for us all.
I think it is. And here's the irony of it is. So, when you're in a bad place or things aren't turning out the way that you want them to, we are running to the Lord and saying to him, "Why aren't you listening?" Because it feels like he's being silent or he's not answering the way we should. And fortunately, God does not have this scale that he goes, "Well, you didn't call on my name today, so I'm not going to answer you." That's not how he works. But what happens is I wrote further in my journal a prayer. And I said, "When anxiety hits, Lord, escape from reality through scrolling or TV or whatever is just a temporary relief. But I know you better than that, Father. And I know that the relief that you bring is not temporary. It's deep. It affects my soul because you have been faithful and steadfast and your love for me and your compassion is without end. And so I found myself as you guys get a lot of what stirs within us and I hope it's it hits home for you too because I'm going to trust that the Holy Spirit is stirring us so that maybe he'll give us the opportunity to stir you as well. So what I was led to then was Psalm 51 which We know that Psalm 51 is written after David had committed sin with Basheba and their son dies and it's just a horrible time for him. But I was praying through this in light of my sin of distraction and this is it in the NLT. Have mercy on me, God, because of your unfailing love, because of your great compassion. Wash me clean from my guilt and purify me from my sin. Now you're thinking, "Oh, come on, Suzi. scrolling on your phone or watching TV or wasting time. That's not a sin. Yeah, it is. For I recognize my rebellion and like David, it haunts me day and night against you and you alone have I sinned. And then he says in verse 7, purify me for my sins and I will be clean. Wash me and I will be whiter than snow. Oh, give me back that joy again. Let me rejoice in you.
Yeah. And the also from the Psalm something that has struck me and it and it's maybe the flip side of what you're saying, but it's still pointing to my relationship with the Lord. The Psalmist says in Psalm 36, "How precious is your steadfast love, oh God, the children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delight. With you is the fountain of life, and in your light do we see light. And it's like, okay, that's what God offers me. I don't get that when I watch.
No, it's not thirst quenching.
It's not thirst quenching, but time with him and seeing what he does is. And yet we allow distractions many times to keep us from running there.
We know that you are like us and we have clay feet and our spirits may be willing, but our flesh is weak. Sometimes our spirit is weak. We want to encourage you and because we need to be encouraged as well that we that the only sense of safety and satisfaction is found in God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Spirit of God that lives within us and teaches us. And so we just want to encourage you to kind of examine what your distractions are. What are the things that take away from your time with the Lord? And if those distra actions seem more life-giving than God and his word, then you need to wonder about that and pray about that.
Have a good week.