Summers at church were rarely boring in my youth group because we were always on the move. We regularly attended conferences and special events. Plus, we had a way of making local trips interesting.
I was particularly gifted when it came to turning the ordinary in to the extraordinary. For instance, our fearless youth pastor once took us tubing down the Ichetucknee River on a sultry summer afternoon. I couldn't wait to escape the heat, soaking my bottom in the chilling waters as my inner tube made its way slowly along the scenic currents.
It was a great ride, with all manner of surprises along the way. There was a snake hanging from a limb that was just above my head, but I resisted the urge to scream like a girl. There were lots of things in the water that caught my attention. Colorful fish and various six packs of soda were the most common sights along the way. The river made an excellent refrigerator for drinks to be enjoyed at the end of the ride.
However, all of these interesting sights can be distracting. I was caught up in a current as I rounded a curve, never seeing the large gentleman who was resting obliviously and enjoying a favorite cigar as I careened into him. Due to the excessive difference in our weights, my tube instantly flipped me into the icy waters. My spectacles went for a swim and I found myself standing on the clear river bottom with about six inches of water above my head, which was enough to evoke a fair amount of panic in a kid who knew little about swimming.
Instinct kicked in and I quickly attempted coming to the surface. I found myself rising like a rocket between the legs of the man I collided with and he probably swallowed his cigar as I grabbed his tube while screaming for help because he never saw me coming. A fellow church member, laughing hysterically at my expense, stopped to give me a ride, but was unable to locate my glasses.
Needless to say, the rest of the trip was a blur to me. Actually, the next four days were also blurry until I was able to replace my beloved glasses. I spent most of that time in bed, nursing a headache because of my inability to focus.
This trip turned out to be a tale for our times as lack of focus is rampant everywhere. I remember hearing about all of the productivity that was coming in future years as technology made free time more accessible for everyone.
Instead, information and entertainment overload has caused all sorts of attention-related disorders. Medicines to improve focus are hot items. We have so many ways to spend our time that few of us are more productive than in the past.
The Bible instructs us to make the most of the days because they are evil. To do that requires focus and living intentionally. Today, we are so busy defending our positions on everything that we aren't rationally discussing anything, much less taking advantage of each day's possibilities.
Our society can find its way back to clear vision when Christians focus there efforts on eternal issues and loving others. Our opinions need to take a backseat to heeding the Gospel of peace, because it brings true stability.
Christians are responsible for paying attention to what God says is around the next corner and to respond as He directs. Then, we can avoid the snakes of dissension that are hanging from the trees and avoid collisions with situations that are too much for us to handle.