EP 187: Reclaiming Ordinary Life in a Distracted World
Inside: In a world that moves so quickly, small, intentional choices help us slow down and truly be present.
Slowing Down Enough to Notice
My husband and I have been away from home for a bit this winter, and we’ve found ourselves becoming snowbirds — something we never thought we would do. But living in Wisconsin has changed us a bit. Over the years we started heading South for one week, then two, and now here we are for almost six weeks.
It’s been a time for us to slow down and actually have time to think and ponder and plan and dream together. We get some play time in, and we still work down here, but this time together is what we cherish most.
As our time is winding down, it has me thinking of the pace of life we live when we get back home. Our life is full, and I so love it and the season we’re in, even as now officially senior citizens. But I know how easily the pace picks back up when we return home.
Our world seems to move so quickly. Our life feels busier now than when our kiddos were home with us. I am a productivity nerd, and whatever I can make more efficient or optimize, I’m all in. I can measure my productivity at times by how much I get done in a day. I’m very wired to everything, and I have an app for most things — from tasks to recipes to my Bible and prayer time.
It’s made me think about how quick I can be to fill the quiet spaces in my day with always doing something, as if I always need to be productive or busy.
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The Life of Jesus Looked Different
But when I look at the life of Jesus, I see something so different. He walked and talked with His disciples (Mark 3:14). He made time for people (Luke 18:40). He noticed individuals in crowds (Luke 19:5). He sat and ate with people and dove into deep conversations (Luke 7:36–50). He wasn’t rushed (Mark 5). He withdrew to quiet places to pray (Luke 5:16).
Sometimes the demands on my day can feel overwhelming. It’s not always just the tasks, but at times the demands on my time to meet and minister to others. I want time to spend with my children and grandchildren, other family members, friends, and our church family.
And somewhere in the midst of all this busyness, I can feel my heart getting busy too. I don’t like it, and at times I don’t know how to quiet it. The pace of my days doesn’t just affect my schedule — it affects my soul. When my days are full and my mind is going nonstop, it’s so easy to live distracted without even meaning to. This isn’t the life I want to live, and it’s definitely not the kind of heart I want to carry into eternity.
The life of Christ shows us that being fully present in the ordinary moments of our lives is not small. It is sacred. And the way we spend our days is shaping our hearts more than we realize.
The Formation We Don’t Notice
This time away has been exposing in me how the pattern of my days forms me. The pace I keep and the things I allow to fill every quiet space, it all shapes my heart. When my days are constantly full and noisy, I notice that I become less attentive to the Lord and to the people right in front of me. Even my prayers can feel shorter and more hurried if I find myself praying at all. I can find myself half listening to people, and my mind is already moving to the next thing. Instead of taking the time to read a deeper article or book, I find my mind just skimming and not really taking in what I’m reading. My mind is too busy and distracted to truly be present. And I don’t like that.
Being truly present doesn’t just happen. It is formed over time by the patterns we live in every day.
Too often I can rush too quickly to fill boredom, whether it’s mindlessly scrolling or eating when I’m not hungry. But I forget that boredom has a purpose because it creates space and slows us down. It gives us time to think. It gives us time to dream. It helps us to solve problems. It teaches us to pray.
When we are bored, what do we reach for? What are we drawn to? Those small, often unnoticed choices are shaping me more than I realize. If I am always reaching for noise or distraction, I can become uncomfortable with silence and grow less patient with stillness. If I never let my mind rest, I begin to lose the ability to linger.
Psalm 1 speaks of the person who meditates on the law of the Lord day and night, not emptying the mind but filling it with truth and turning that truth over slowly. Meditating on God’s Word slows us down long enough to think deeply on it.
But that doesn’t happen without intention. It requires us to pursue quiet and be able to sit with something long enough for it to sink in. I don’t linger well. It doesn’t come naturally to me. We live in a world that trains us to move quickly from one thing to the next.
Small, Intentional Choices
But we don’t have to live at that pace. The life of Christ shows us something so different. A steady one. A present one. Jesus was never hurried, even when demands surrounded Him. And while our lives will never look exactly like His, we can learn from the way He lived.
Reclaiming ordinary life doesn’t require dramatic changes. It begins with small, intentional choices.
It might mean letting one quiet moment stay quiet instead of immediately reaching for something to fill it. It might mean allowing no phones at dinner and lingering a little longer at the table. It might mean looking someone in the eyes and really listening. It might mean reading a chapter in a book or an article slowly instead of skimming and moving on.
It might mean opening your Bible before looking at your phone in the morning. Sitting with one verse instead of rushing through a chapter just to check it off. Driving in silence once in a while instead of filling every minute with input.
These are not huge, dramatic acts. But they are powerful. They retrain our hearts toward presence. They create space for thoughtfulness, for prayer, for listening well. They help us resist the constant pull toward hurry and distraction.
Presence is not accidental, but it begins as we choose small ways again and again.
We don’t have to reject technology. I’m grateful for it in so many areas of my life; it truly is a blessing. But we must refuse to let it train us and disciple us. Because what we repeatedly give our attention to is forming who we are becoming.
And the hearts we carry into eternity are being shaped right here, in the ordinary moments of our everyday lives.
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