The Many Questions I've Been Pondering Today

I’m not a great multitasker.

Just ask my kids. They’ll tell you I cannot . . . 

•       talk on the phone and check email. Too distracting, on both ends.
•       drive and listen to the radio. (Just kidding on that one!)
•      read when there’s music on in the room.
•       walk and text at the same time. (I’m NOT kidding on that one!)

All sorts of hilarity will ensue if I try doing too many things at once. Which is strange to me because when my girls were very little I could . . .

•      change a diaper on one while giving a bath to another.
•       make dinner and read books at the same time.
•       feed a baby while baking cookies. 

Multitasking must be a skill that God gives to moms of young kids—you are all Wonderwomen!—but somewhere along the line I lost this skill. My girls became self-sufficient multitaskers themselves, able to handle all sorts of things at once.

Me? I’m happy to focus on one task at a time, oftentimes wishing I could do more. (That walking and texting thing would really come in handy.)

Sometimes, however, multitasking has its drawbacks.

Take, for instance, times when you’re with a friend who constantly checks her phone while she’s supposed to be talking to you. Not fun.

Or when the person in the car ahead of you is driving five miles an hour UNDER the speed limit because he’s on his phone. The worst!

This morning at the gym I saw some astounding multitasking that has left me scratching my head. It’s not the first time I’ve seen it happen—in fact, where I work out, it happens a lot.

I saw a man on an elliptical machine reading his Bible.

Like I said, I’ve seen this kind of multitasking behavior several times before. These people are probably thinking It’s early. I need to exercise, but I also need to read my Bible. Hey, I know! I’ll do them both at the same time.

But here’s what made me stop and wonder this morning. When people exercise and read the Bible, are they reading the Bible just for the sake of getting it out of the way? Or are they reading the Bible carefully, prayerfully, and thoughtfully?

I know what my answer would be. And I’m sure I can’t answer for the man I saw on the elliptical this morning, but I’m wondering . . . what do you think?

Does it give God pleasure to see us using our body, mind, and spirit at the same time?

Or does God feel like we’re just checking Him off our list when we multitask our Bible reading?

Comments, please!