Distracted?

Anybody else distracted?

I think the change/lack of routine has disturbed any sense of rhythm my former life contained. I’m not by nature a slave to routine. I read this quote by Emily P. Freeman a few years ago and framed it: it explains me:

“I’d like to live my life less like a list and more like a lyric.” 

I like fluid routine. Each day different with no hard edges. A little loosey goosey, as some may say.

Our quarantine has thrown my fluid routine into a wandering brook or as I told my daughter this week … “I feel like ricochet rabbit, ping ponging back and forth from small thing to insignificant side trip to this and that!”

Whew, I am distracted! 

Not by the news or statistics, just by all the changes.

You know how “they” say, “if you do something 3 weeks in a row it becomes a habit”? Yeah … not me! I can do something for three years, miss it once and ooops, it’s slipped from my day without notice. Seriously, I’ve never understood how that works for people … I’ve tried.

This week, I’ve been productive in minutely small things. I’ve not rearranged or cleaned out anything. I’m feeling like any accomplishment is a big thing … coffee, food, an email, kind words, phone call, etc. I can’t really explain what I’ve done all day, but I’ve not resorted to binge watching Netflix, although if you have, I salute your attention span! Good for you, you’ve completed something … that’s a win!

In my ping pong life, I realized:

It will be Palm Sunday this week!! 

… And it happened, two days ago: the start of Holy Week. This week on the Christian calendar is usually filled with plans, activities, contemplation, remembrance and celebration for Christians. I knew it was coming, like every spring, but like I said, I’ve been distracted.

It’s the one week of the year I like to lean in hard and focus on the events that took place 2,020 years ago!! Make sure my heart and mind are contemplating, praising, and relearning the events.

This year, I will celebrate in a much more solitary way, not gathering with my Christian community or family except by internet. It will look different, but the results can be the same. I don’t have to miss the heart experience of reliving what salvation, sacrifice and love looks like.

So … I gave myself a challenge and I pass it on to you;

Reread the accounts of Holy Week in the Bible …

find a detail or details you don’t recall learning before.

I know, after umpteen Easters, we think we know it by heart … chances are something new will stick out, if we look.

It happened right away for me in John 12:10 – 11:

“So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus too,
because on his account many Jews were rejecting them and believing in Jesus.”

Okay, where have I been … I do remember that the last recorded miracle before Palm Sunday was Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. But I didn’t remember … the Chief Priests planned to kill Lazarus, as well as Jesus!!

That part of the plan did not happen, but reading those words launched me into some study to find more about that verse. Many commentators have insights that do not all agree with one another, but the possibilities are interesting.

Lazarus’ resurrection drew the crowds to Bethany (just 2 miles from Jerusalem) when they heard Jesus and Lazarus were there. They wanted to see for themselves this resurrected man and his healer. Hearing of this miracle converted many Jews, and they wanted to meet both Jesus and Lazarus as a result!

Immediately following Lazarus’ resurrection, Jesus left the area and many say Lazarus went with him. Jesus knew this would cause an uproar with the authorities. So they withdrew.

It certainly caused an uproar:

“From that day on, the Jewish authorities made plans to kill Jesus. So Jesus did not travel openly in Judea, but left and went to a place near the desert, to a town named Ephraim, where he stayed with the disciples.” John 11:53-54

The details go on and on. I am enjoying piecing the details together and concentrating on something about Holy Week I haven’t focused on before:

They wanted to kill Lazarus, too!

I know it’s a minor detail, but that’s where I am focusing this week. I am sure it will lead me to other things, details always do.

Even though I’m distracted, it can lead to fresh things, excellent things, heart things, even if they seem minute and less than my most productive self.

Anybody else feeling distracted?

Anybody else want to take the challenge?
If so, tell us what detail you find that you forgot or found!

STAY TUNED: Coming Up in Two Weeks: A Covid Giveaway!!

Quarantine Blessings,

Feel free to share with a friend(s).

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