Threading my way through the crowds of Carhart-clad men and women who had gathered for the farm machinery auction, I followed the sound of the auctioneer’s chant to our clerking cart and exchanged places with the clerk on duty.

Without speaking I immediately gave all my attention to what was happening before me. As the auctioneer called bids, my fingers flew over the computer keys recording the information for each item sold. Inching through the pressing crowds I worked to keep the auctioneer and items in view.

As I moved my cart forward I realized that my clerking computer transmitter was having trouble communicating with our main computer in our on-site office. I wheeled the cart back until I had better reception, all the while continuing to type, and positioned myself in a place where I could clearly hear the auctioneer’s chant through our speaker.

The crowd moved forward and I focused my hearing on the voice coming through the PA system, completely putting my trust in what the auctioneer was saying. I now needed to rely on him fully to give me the correct information because I could no longer see what was going on.

This is much like our lives. We follow God along the path of life until something gets in our way. An interruption breaks into our comfortable situation and we feel left behind as the world moves on.

There may be an illness, a death, or a financial situation that causes despair and suddenly we feel as if we have lost contact with Him. We lose sight of God through our frustration and pain and the voices of life swirl around us causing us to feel alone. These are the times when we need to tune out the crowd’s noise and with every ounce of our concentration fix our eyes on Christ.

Hang onto God’s words for they will never fail. Even when we cannot see what is going on, God is still in control.

It takes training and practice to block the distractions around me when clerking an auction. Similarly, it takes a lot of determination to fix our eyes on Jesus in a world of distractions. But when we do we will experience God’s perfect peace and we’ll never miss a bid!

Sandra Sheridan is a Midwest wife and mother of five. She shares her messages to her children with Farm World. Visit her at www.VersesFromMama.blogspot.com