Distracted by Bumps in Life

In preparation for the annual Christmas parade–the one downtown Aztec where the whole town gathers to celebrate the holiday amongst crowds of bundled up Aztecians and hundreds of twinkling lights and glittering decorations–my only job was to keep my eyes on the cross…and I failed.

That Saturday afternoon, the afternoon of the Aztec Sparkles Christmas parade, I helped to decorate our church’s float. I assisted in unwinding lights and in duct-taping them to a flatbed trailer loaded with bundles of hay and then helped to place a strand of bright bulbs around a large, rough wooden cross.

Later in the afternoon minor adjustments were made, the generator was revved up, the cross was loaded upright and secured into the bed of the truck, and around dusk, it was time to haul the trailer, the cross, and a handful of teenagers to the parade entry location. My only job at that point from the passenger seat of the truck was to make sure during the transport that the cross did not wobble too much, tilt or fall. My only job was to keep my eyes on the cross. And yet,…

The simplest job became so difficult–because there were bumps! And I had to see what caused the bumps. And the road! I had to see where we were on the road. And there were people! I had to see if I knew them. And I was tired. My gaze wandered off… So many distractions. And each time, as the realization would hit me that I had yet again taken my eyes off of the cross, a sadness filled me because…it was a familiar pattern.

How often I’ve become distracted by bumps in life, tiredness, other people, what my journey looks like…when my only job is to keep my eyes on the cross. God is piloting the vehicle of my life; I just need to keep my eyes on Jesus. The author of Hebrews encourages us to, “…throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith…”  Hebrews 12:1b, 2a

Today, if distractions have been an issue, it’s time to throw them off. Jettison the baggage and the weight, and let’s fix our eyes on Jesus.

–Katie Botello