Little Foxes

Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom. Song of Solomon 2:15

It’s the little things that gets me down: the blister from new shoes, the jammed printer, the check book that refuses to balance, a thoughtless comment from that irritating person at work, the family member who speaks before thinking. I won’t even mention the time we found head lice in our daughters’ beautiful waist-long hair or the nasty bedbugs that traveled home with us after summer vacation. You get the idea. None of these things are life threatening but enough to push me over the edge on an already stressful day.

These little irritants, little foxes, pull my eyes away from what I should be doing and cause me to lose focus.

Consider an athlete. Focus is the difference between an athlete’s good or bad performance. Somehow he tunes out the noise of the crowd and the pressures of the moment to do what he knows best: swing the bat, catch the ball, or shoot the basket. Focus allows a trained musician to perform a dynamite concert. You’ve seen the intense expressions and dripping sweat from the faces of famous musicians so you know what I mean. Their focus is exceptional—perhaps the reason for their success.

Certainly we all need to focus on what we are doing—even if we’re not famous athletes or great musicians. The passage above says that a little fox ruins the vine. A spoiled vine produces no fruit. When a fox’s little nibble breaks our focus, the athlete stumbles, the violinist hits a sour note, and we mess up. Fruit is lost. The task is undone. The goal is not met. What God has asked us to do is not accomplished.

How about you? Do you have something on your to-do list that needs attention? Are you having trouble focusing on a project? Ask God to help you tune out the little foxes that would distract you from accomplishing His purpose.

Dear Lord, you see the distractions around us. Help us to focus on what you would have us do today. Amen.