The Mosquito

I grew up on a farm in Northwestern Minnesota, where the mosquito is the state bird. Since we lived right next to a very slow moving river, the mosquitos were especially prevalent--my brother and I would be covered by bites from head to toe, all summer. I remember swatting my arm one time, and killing five at once--I think that was a record. So one of the things I love about Indiana is that there are relatively few mosquitos.

But that doesn't mean there are no mosquitos. Earlier this fall I set up an appointment with the President of my college--needless to say, I was a little tense. We had company during the meeting; one of my pesky mosquito friends kept flitting from the President's collar, to his ear, to his arm, and back again. But I didn't feel quite right swatting at the President, even though his attempts at getting it weren't successful.

But a couple of minutes later, the mosquito journeyed into my range, and with a lucky clap, I got it mid-air. It was at a fitting moment in the conversation, and we both laughed about the appropriateness of the object lesson. While I'm not always that lucky, it was a memorable moment, and I made a joke about my Minnesotan experience being useful on occasion.

There are mosquitos in my life right now--the ulcerative colitis, miscarriage recovery, even the getting old feeling. They're distracting, and make it easy to focus on me instead of focusing on God. It's one of Satan's favorite strategies--be an annoying gnat to take our eyes off the prize and focus on him instead.

So that's my goal for this week: to memorize and apply Phillipians 3:13b-14: But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Send your flyswatter, God, and remove the distractions--and help me focus on you.