I was reading another entry in my A Year with Thomas Merton book today entitled “Bearing Witness to the Resurrection.” It’s a great entry where Merton talks about where he finds happiness, and where he is most happy. In this particular entry Merton said he is “happier than he’s ever been” while singing in the choir. He goes on to say he can hardly “hold himself in place, expecting every moment to be his last.”

Merton also points out that when he’s at his toolshed hermitage he is “always happy and at peace, no matter what happens. For here, there is no need for anyone but God.”

Then suddenly out of no-where, the entry ends with the sentence – “A fly buzzes on the windowpane!” Did this fly suddenly pull him out of the things and thoughts of God, directly back into what many call the real world?

This got me wondering just how often we find ourselves distracted from the peace of God through daily, and many times the mundane, things of life. A fly buzzing on the windowpane suddenly becomes our excuse for the moment to stop thinking on the things of God.

What is buzzing on your windowpane today taking your attention away from God? Is it a worthy distraction? Or is it best to ignore it, so you can continue pondering the things of God.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus