I don’t know about you, but there have been times in my life when I have had a hard time focusing long enough to pray. Oh, I talked to God, but all too often my needs and concerns wound up tumbling all over each other like starving puppies scrambling for their mama, a machine-gun spray of frantic prayer requests peppering heaven. I felt more like an auctioneer than a woman having a conversation. I’m certain God understood, but it wasn’t very soul-satisfying for me.

A couple years ago it occurred to me that if I was going to slow down enough to spend quality time with God I would have to get out of the house, away from the distractions tugging at my mind and heart. So I dug my tennies out from under the bed, threw on a sweatshirt, and snuck out the back door so the kids wouldn’t see me leave. It was a perfect plan–the beauty of creation would lift my spirit, the walking would center my mind, and I would have a good twenty minutes to just soak in God’s presence.

I hadn’t gone five steps from my house before a hornet started circling my head.

Of course.

Now, this was not surprising in and of itself. I live in the woods, and wasps enjoy the foliage as much as I do. What was surprising is that the hornet trailed me for a full mile, resisting every attempt I made to shake it.

Now that’s commitment.

I did my best to ignore it, and had a wonderful, refreshing time with God (except when the stupid thing got tangled up in my hair. THAT was hard to ignore). Still, I pondered the situation when I got home. I was pre-shower and didn’t have any product in my hair, so there was no chance the bug was attracted to the scent of my shampoo. I decided that my red sweatshirt must be the culprit, and decided to wear drab colors on my next walk so the hornet wouldn’t mistake me for breakfast.

But the next morning, the hornet joined me again, following me for my entire walk. And the next. And the next. In fact, every time I went out for a prayer walk that summer, I had hornets circling my head like an unholy halo, buzzing threats from every side.

Though I didn’t appreciate them at the time, those hornets were actually a good analogy for the anxieties that distract us from our walk with Christ, demanding our attention with angry threats and insisting that we give their presence more weight than God’s. But really, they’re just bugs, and one swat from God’s hand would end them. Sure, hornets are capable of creating pain in the here and now. But in the grand scheme of things, they’re not a threat.

It is important for us to bring all of our fears, troubles, and anxieties to God. He wants us share those things honestly with him, instead of hiding them away or denying that they exist. But after you have done that, try sitting in his presence for a while, focusing on the Bigness and Goodness of God, instead of the bigness of whatever is frightening you. Those hornets may begin to seem a little less scary.

Pastor Jenny