Once I set a date to launch this blog, it was like everything was vying for my attention. In preparation, I used my whiteboard to map out a plan for the entire month, day by day. I was ready! I probably stuck to the plan for four whole days. While I felt I was making progress, I was also a bit overwhelmed and began to ask myself, “How am I going to do this?” Then along came D. (In this context, D stands for distraction. We will refer to him in this manner for the remainder of the post.) On day five, D encouraged me to have a fun night on the town because I deserved it. Did I mention we were going to one of my favorite restaurants in West Hollywood? Count me in! As the days went on, D had other tricks up his sleeve. Sometimes I went down a rabbit hole on social media or binge-watching a series on Netflix. 

D also brought along a friend who happened to have the same first initial: discouragement. Because I was allowing D to steal my time, I also began questioning if I was even supposed to be doing this blog. Did I really hear God? My commitment to complete it in time for the launch date was waning, to say the least. 

When I woke up in the morning, I was confronted with the whiteboard. I did nothing. Discouragement was whispering lies. “Forget about it. What makes you think you can do this? Who is going to read it anyway? Don’t waste your time.” The sad thing is, I listened. I believed the lie. I did not fight to make the time needed. I continually gave into D and now discouragement. The thought of the blog wasn’t even fun anymore. In those moments, I forgot about how I prayed for God to give me the title. I forgot how He gave me the vision. I forget He created me to write. Okay so I did not forget per se, but I pushed those thoughts far away. I had given up. 

BUT GOD. He came through in the clutch-like the night before my launch date. I was at an evening church service and during our time of worship, the Lord spoke to me concerning this blog. He told me to go home and write. He told me to finish building my website. He told me to launch on the date I committed to. Immediately, I felt a fresh wind of excitement and vigor come over me. I left the church with clear direction and focus. I did exactly what God told me to do. 

In retrospect, I recognize God’s grace enabled me to push past discouragement and distractions. While grace is multi-faceted, for the sake of this post, I will define it this way: “God’s enabling power to do something.” This was at work while I sat in my room, typing my first post. Grace was on display as I created the building blocks for the website. Grace is at work every day in my life.

I am grateful for God’s grace to push past the things which were holding me back. Because of this experience, I feel like I am more sensitive to distractions these days. I fight discouragement by reminding myself who God says I am. I keep my focus on Him and look to His Word for encouragement. I hope in sharing this, you take a moment to recognize the things distracting you from doing what God has told you to do. Guard against these distractions so they can no longer steal time from you that you will never get back.

Heavenly Father,

Thank you Lord for your grace. We pray you give us a greater understanding of your grace and how we ought to walk in it each day. May we recognize the things that seek to distract us from walking in purpose and guard against those things. When we feel discouraged, may we look to you for the encouragement we need. Thank you for loving us and leading us every day. We are grateful to you.

In Jesus’ Name.

Amen