Sidetracked
Saturday morning was one of those wonderfully zoo-ey days at our house. The Project (our bathroom/laundry room/half bath transformation) was in full swing and the office was abuzz. Our regular company hours are 8:00-5:00 Monday through Friday; but with a home office, it’s not unusual for the office to have things going on at many odd times. That was certainly true Saturday morning.
Mary Evelyn is the illustrator for the new world history we are working on for grades 5-8. She is trying some new techniques and decided to get some training on Adobe Illustrator. She hired the graphic designer at a local print shop to come over to give her some pointers. Since he works full-time, her tutoring was scheduled for 8:00 a.m. Saturday morning.
Her husband Nate wanted to listen in, too, and so did I. However, I also wanted to watch the children so Nate and Mary Evelyn could pay the closest attention. Ray was doing research on one side of the room. Pete, Mary Evelyn, and Nate were huddled around one computer on the other side. I was playing with the children and interspersing questions from time to time when something came up specifically related to the world history curriculum.
At one point Clara asked me to come play restaurant with her at the children’s table and chairs we keep in the office. I said yes; but in the midst of my multi-tasking, I took longer than she thought I should.
In her sweet three-year-old voice, she reminded me that we were to play restaurant and asked, “Did you get sidetracked?” Well, yes, I did.
Pretty soon I was taking her order for broccoli, carrots, applesauce, potatoes, milk, juice, salad, dog food (for the dog we were playing with), and a chickenburg sandwich (that one was a new one for me).
I love that God made weeks and that we get to start a new one each Sunday. Can you imagine what it would be like if our lives weren’t divided into weeks? Without them we might get on a sidetrack and stay on it indefinitely. Living in weeks helps us get back in focus. They help us stop, get off our sidetrack, and get back on the path we have decided to follow.
Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path.
Psalm 119:105