Table Talk - Part Two

"Slow down, your eating to fast!"

I was shocked as I watched my youngest son, Carson, scarfing down his food as if he hadn't eaten in a week.

Once again, it was dinner time. I had spent the last two hours preparing a southern style, home cooked meal, if I say so myself. Keith and I were still in the kitchen preparing our plates with all those delicious sides when I turned to see Carson "in motion". His fork was moving so fast, from his plate to his mouth, that it looked like some sort of new aerobic bicep exercise.

He spotted my glaring eyes, which by the way, my family calls the "burn a hole right through ya glare" and immediately smiled with that "oops, I'm busted" look on his face. He quickly put his fork down and by this time everyone was at the dinner table waiting for me. So, I returned to the task at hand - fixing my plate and heading towards the table.

As I got closer, I spotted Carson's plate and it was completely empty. We hadn't even said grace yet! Needless to say, I was completely frustrated. I asked Carson why he had eaten his dinner so fast and he said, "Mom, there's this great show on and I want to watch it. Can I be excused now?" I looked at Keith to see his response. Surely he'd say no. Instead, Keith gave Carson the nod and off he went to watch his t.v. show.

At that moment, I decided this wasn't a battle I was willing to fight. Although I didn't agree with Keith's decision, I realized this request was an exception and not the norm. Still, I felt a little sad all through dinner. I really wanted Carson to spend time with us as a family. This was our table talk time and I had been looking forward to it.

When dinner was over with and I was cleaning up the dishes, God whispered in my heart " Leah, I know your disappointed that Carson rushed through dinner so that he could watch t.v.. It's like when you rush through your quiet time with me to start on your to-do list for the day." Ouch!

Although it hurt, it was completely true. Often times, I do rush through my devotion time to get other things accomplished. I'm so anxious to move onto the next task at hand, as if my time with the Lord is a line item on my to-do list that needs to be checked off. To think that the God of the Universe sets aside time to spend with me and I'm so "busy" that I don't have time to be with him.

Do you find yourself rushing through your quiet time too?

Is your mind easily distracted with other thoughts when your trying to read through scripture?

Do you ever drift off into la la land while praying?

I'd love to know if you struggle with these things too.