As I walk through my little garden, or among the trees at my “place away from places,” I listen to sounds of the wind in the trees and the birds, and feel the breeze or my evaporating sweat, and I am reminded of the Book of Genesis with Adam and Eve living in the presence of God as they sensed Him in all that was in the Garden of Eden. How different were those times to those of today? Time spent with God.
Many modern habits prevent us from spending time with God. He wants us to do so, but we live in a world that gives us “reasons” that we don’t. We have plans, obsessions, preoccupations, diversions and distractions, all of which take our minds away from God and His love for us.
Plans: We plan. Incessantly. For the day, the week, the month, the year and the distant future. We plan our careers and our retirements. We plan for ourselves and our loved ones. We buy planners, sometimes paper but usually digital. Plan, plan, plan. As Woody Allen famously said, “If you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans.”
Obsessions: We obsess about things, all of which are less important or impactful than time spent with God. We obsess over what to eat or not eat, habits and hobbies, how to lose weight or gain weight, which game to play, measuring progress.
Preoccupations: We are preoccupied by numerous things, most of which are actually inconsequential. Do we look right for the meeting? What can we say to this person (instead of just listening)? Is that car going to go through the light fast enough so we can make it, too? How will tomorrow’s meeting with my boss?
Diversions: There are times when people intentionally try to divert our attention from what is important to us to something that is important to them. Sometimes that diversion is intentionally put into motion to keep us from spending time with God.
Distractions: Getting distracted is not only a challenge for cats with lasers or ADD folks. “Focus,” as a topic for leadership and success, is a frequent field for experts, speakers and authors who believe they can improve your focus if you hire them or buy their services. Life is full of distractions.
The good news is that what keeps us from spending more time with God is…ourselves. We can choose to find, if only for moments, time when we can have our own Garden moments with our Father.