Eggs in the Watch

It's amazing what things catch our attention. I've been trying to work on Sunday's sermon (I'm a manuscript preacher), but I've done just about everything else but that today. I worked on the newsletter, planned out some upcoming youth activities, played around with the bulletin format, and even tried to fix the office manager's chair. These are all worthwhile activities, but none of them were what I had planned to focus my attention on today. And I wonder, is it pure procrastination (a definite possibility), an attempt to avoid thinking about John 6 for the fifth week in a row (an even greater possibility), or an inexplicable lure for details today that I often put aside in the midst of larger visions (hmmm....). I've heard it said that the devil is in the details, which I've never really understood, but I think the details sometimes are all we're able to handle. Is it so bad to occasionally allow what our senses notice to take priority over a pre-determined to-do list?

A few weeks ago, we had Vacation Bible School. Since the church hadn't had it for a few years, and I'm very new to the congregation, we opted for a three-night option. It was enough to get kids involved, but not so much to overwhelm staff and other resources. Our theme was the Gospel Express, and we adapted skits for each night. I had the privilege (?) of being conductor for these skits. In one of them, to demonstrate God's forgiveness, a character named HoBo apologized for taking my watch and using it as an egg timer. Unfortunately, HoBo put the watch in the eggs so the eggs could hear the timer. (The punchline: I'll get over it, but it will take time...TIME!) Anyway, although I am a VERY amateur actor, my 3 year old son got very upset with my pretend outburst and came running after me, crying "Mommy! Mommy!" Since VBS, he has periodically said, "Watch in the eggs?" or sometimes, "Eggs in the watch?" The rest of the skit was lost to him, but he paid attention to those few seconds of dialogue. For some reason, it attracted him and won't fade.

It makes me wonder what odd things attract my attention, even when I get details confused. Where is God in the "egg in the watch" moments? I'm not sure whether to seek forgiveness for getting distracted or to re-evaluate priorities. Maybe neither option is the answer. Maybe the question isn't so much how to focus attention but how to open myself to whatever does claim my senses and appreciate what I might have otherwise missed.

Thoughts for a Wednesday afternoon...