Distracted
August 20, 2019 by Cynthia Ruchti
Filed under Daily Devotions, Humorous
By Cynthia Ruchti –
The conversation—the mom’s side of it—might have started like this:
“All buckled up, kids? Good. Hannah, stop poking your sister. You did, too. I saw you. Jenna, just because she poked you does not give you the right to take her juice box. Hannah, don’t just grab it back. Ask for it nicely or it’ll…spill. Here’s a paper towel. Two. Three. Get it quick before it stains. Now, you two, settle down. We have a long trip ahead of us. No, we are not there yet. Why don’t you read the books Grandma gave you? There, that’s nice. I don’t know what that page says, Jenna. I’m driving. No, I don’t know what that page says either. Driving. Oh, look! A cow! Let’s count cows. No, you may not get out of your car seats so you can see better. Because I love you, that’s why. And because it’s the law. How about let’s sing. Good. No, no, please, no, not that one! Please pick a different— The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round, the— What colors, Hannah? What? Oh, red and blue lights. Yes, they are pretty, aren’t they? Mommy’s just going to pull the car to the side of the road and see what the nice policeman wants. And you two are not going to sing while he— Oh, Jenna! Get your finger out of your nose. Hello, officer. License and registration? Sure. Spare juice box. Spare bottle of Advil. Spare diaper. What’s the problem, officer? Distracted driving? Impossible. I wasn’t texting!”
How distracted do I let myself become on issues that really matter, like safe driving? Relationships? My relationship with the Lord?
How many times do I let the mundane interfere with the profound?
PRAYER: Lord, I need You to help me not be driven to distraction, but driven to my knees, fully focused on You. I want You to have my full attention. Anything else spells danger.
“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2 NIV).
Backward Thinking
June 6, 2019 by Cynthia Ruchti
Filed under Daily Devotions, Family
By Cynthia Ruchti –
A woman with an often high stress job as a nurse in a small hospital gained a reputation as the town’s go-to person for all things medical that didn’t require a doctor. Decades before the advent of nurse hotlines, she created her own by default.
Before people began to refer to it as 24/7, she remained available night and day. Laboring women showed up at her door to ask if it was too early to go to the maternity ward and what they could do to ease the backache. Phone calls split the night with the question, “What can I try now? Jerry’s cough is worse,” or “The baby has this rash…”
The woman with the homemade hotline attended to every need with uncommon patience and compassion.
That came as a surprise to her children.
After long hours at the hospital and middle of the night ambulance runs and too little sleep, after tending to the needs of others, she was sometimes short and impatient with her own family. She ran out of patience because she’d spent it all on other people.
We know God is able to expand our capacity for patience to meet the breadth of our need for it. But fatigue too often wins out. And too many times the world outside our front door gets first pick of the patience.
It’s clear though that the Lord intended His life lessons to apply to the way we treat one another at home as well as how we treat people outside the walls of home. Not instead of, but in addition to. By His power.
That thought hit close to…home…this week. Am I only patient with my family members if I happen to have some left over after serving others? That can’t be what the Lord meant.
AUTHOR QUOTE: Home is a proving ground—not a scrap heap—for the kindness we show others.
“I will try to walk a blameless path, but how I need your help, especially in my own home, where I long to act as I should” (Psalm 101:2 LB).
Today’s devotional is by Cynthia Ruchti, whose debut novel—They Almost Always Come Home (Abingdon Press)—explores the “proving ground” of loving when it doesn’t make sense or seem fair. Cynthia writes and produces The Heartbeat of the Home radio broadcast. Read more about these and other projects at www.cynthiaruchti.com.
