Distractions
There once was a man, Joel, who lived on the outskirts of a town named Layville. After 30 years of hard work, he became a very wealthy man and built a large mansion that spanned over 6, 500 sq ft.
The man formerly a farmer was now one of the state's main distributors of agricultural produce. Even with all his money his kindness was his most notable trait.
He was truly blessed by God and acknowledged it. He gave almost 50% of his income to the town church and helped whenever he could.
After years of trying his wife gave birth to a son and he named him Nathaniel.
Joel raised Nathan as his heir. From a young age, he took him to all his meetings, so all his partners and clients knew his face.
When he turned 13, Joel placed him on one of the farms to work as a laborer every day after school. He wanted Nathan to learn hard work.
Nathan had always been obedient to his father’s instructions. He consistently followed them without complaint. It was obvious it was all for his sake.
One day, while walking home from school, Nathan caught sight of a soccer march that was being played on a field by the side of the road.
He had never seen such an interesting sport. He watched on for a while before continuing home. That night the scene played on repeat in his mind.
A week had passed
Whenever he saw a match being played he sat on a grass and watched until it ended. At this point, he had a favorite. Livve FC.
Joel realized how it could become an issue. So after Nathan came back one afternoon, he sat him down and warned him about overindulgence.
Heeding his father’s caution he stopped weekday watches altogether and tried to catch weekend matches whenever he was free, which wasn’t much of the time.
Joel had trained Nathan for years and wanted to assess his progress. One day, when Joel had to meet a client, he decided not to take Nathan along. Instead, he put Nathan in charge of the household and all the farms in Layville.
This was a big responsibility. Nathan was well aware. He was honored by his father’s decision to leave the care of his most important farmland, even though it was just for the weekend.
Joel had taught Nathan almost everything he knew, so the only instruction he gave him was, “Don’t forget to turn on the irrigation system for Mutated Morning Glory nursery every afternoon”.
The flowers were normally for high-paying customers or their wives. Nathan performed thorough inspections every morning and supervised during the day before ending it by watering the Morning Glories.
All the workers only had good reviews concerning his leadership and work ethic. On the final day after supervising the weed pulling on a farm near his high school, he walked back home to water the Morning Glories.
When returning, he saw a match being played. Ordinarily, he would have ignored it but this time was special game. It was Livve FC vs. Montross-metro, and it was the final match to determine who qualifies to enter the state league.
He was at an impasse. Go water the flowers or watch the match. If he went to water the flowers the match would be over before he got back, and if he watched the match first the flowers could be damaged.
A thought meandered into his mind. “Let me just watch for a little bit and go water the flowers right after”. He stood by watching, not daring to sit so he could leave quickly.
Unsuccessfully, he fell for the passion, and before he knew it he had taken a seat and watched the whole thing. Livve FC ended up winning the match and that made him so happy.
He looked up in excitement and immediately realized the sun was setting. He jumped to his feet and quickly ran home, praying the flowers were still in good shape.
When he got home the flowers had been watered. He was so relieved but concerned about how and who. He entered the house, only to find his father, the last person he wanted to see, seated in the Living room waiting for him. He turned the irrigation system on.
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There are many distractions in the world, craving, and tempting our attention away from the important things of life.
You have a God-given purpose focus on fulfilling that.
If you agree or have some questions the comments are open for your thoughts 💬.