THE SWEET DISTRACTION

 

I was thinking this morning... Last week, I was invited as a special guest at the Interhouse Sports and Fun Day of Crestland International School, Port-Harcourt. It was, indeed, an all-round fun day.

Of all the activities, the lollipop race struck home for me. In this race, designed for children in pre-nursery, each child was given a lollipop a few minutes before the race began. At the blast of the whistle, the children were asked to run the 15-meter lap while licking and savouring the sweet. All four children started the race strong, licking the candy and running.

Less than 5m into the race, one of the children could no longer combine the enjoyment with running. He stopped running, and with his hand to his mouth, he held the lollipop stick and just enjoyed himself. The other three runners focused on the race. Before my little friend realised it, the other three runners had got to the finish line. He lost the race because of a sweet distraction.

I remember commencing my doctorate programme immediately after my Masters in 1994. Less than a year into the programme, I got a job and started earning real money for the first time in my life. I decided to put my schooling on hold, promising to return in a couple of years. Well, that 2-year hiatus was 30 years ago last year. To me, making money was a sweet distraction from achieving my dream of being called a doctor.

There are many young girls who started their education strong and on track to getting a degree. Then they met a smashing young man. One thing led to another, and they got pregnant and dropped out of school. Most will promise themselves that after having the baby, they would return to complete their studies. Ten years after, they are still the compound mama Iyabo. Their dream was scuttled by a sweet distraction.

In the race of life, focus is key. Everyone is faced with a sweet distraction ever so often, where you could either enjoy your lollipop or continue running. Sometimes, though, you could have the rare privilege of running and savouring your lollipop. Whatever your situation might be, focus on the prize. Hebrews 12:2 gave us a perfect example of how to avoid the sweet distraction

Stay hopeful. God's got our back.

Happy Sunday!

......Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey