“So, do you think that will work?” Pam asked.

I was nestled comfortably in my favorite reclining sofa, with the dog snoozing beside me. My laptop was open, iced coffee in hand, and I was deeply engrossed in an online article from the New York Times. She stood about 10 feet away, holding a kitchen knife.

I snapped out of my digital trance. “Ummm…,” I stalled. I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about.

Our house has an open floor plan between the kitchen and living room—it’s really just one big open area with a kitchen bar in between. It’s easy to have a conversation between rooms if you’re listening. For the last several minutes, Pam had been chatting away while doing some dinner prep. And I was… not listening.

Think. Think. Think. What were we talking about? Dinner? A schedule conflict? The kids? A church issue? File. Not. Found.

Realizing I couldn’t bluff my way out of this one, I finally admitted, “I’m sorry, babe, I have no idea what we’re talking about.” I hoped she hadn’t brought the kitchen knife to exact vengeance. Thankfully, she was gracious, as always, and recapped the conversation for me. It’s not the first time this has happened. Sigh.

I’m a terrible multi-tasker. I’d like to think I can do two things at once, but I rarely can. I can’t even listen to background music while I work without getting distracted. So, if someone’s talking to me while I’m looking at a screen, book, or TV, I’m not paying good attention to one or the other… probably both.

This struggle with divided attention isn’t just limited to my conversations with Pam; it affects my relationship with God, too. I’ve found that if I run at the pace of this world, I’ll rarely hear from God. The flood of information, stimuli, and distraction is so overwhelming that it drowns out the Good Shepherd’s voice.

Psalm 46:10 reminds us, “Be still, and know that I am God.” In our fast-paced lives, slowing down is crucial to hearing God’s voice. But in our world, we rarely make room for quiet. It seems like we’re always scrolling, listening to podcasts, or have the radio or TV blaring in the background. When do we make time to listen?

Yesterday, I had a conversation with Chris and Kathy, my spiritual director friends in Virginia. Chris said, “When I get busy, the Father gets quiet.” That quote wasn’t original with him, but it sure was timely for me.

The irony is, my relationship with Pam and the things we talk about are WAY more important than anything I watch on TV, read online, or find on my phone. Yet, I often let the meaningless replace what truly matters. How much more this applies to our relationship with God!  Walking moment by moment with Jesus, hearing from God and his Word, and following the Holy Spirit is the very definition of discipleship, and yet we structure our lives in a way that makes this at the very least difficult and, at worst, impossible.

Jesus said in John 10:27, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” To truly follow God, we must learn to hear His voice and then be attentive and intentional about following.

In our world of constant noise and endless distractions, it’s crucial to be intentional about making space for what truly matters. Just as my conversations with Pam deserve my full attention, so too does my relationship with God. By creating moments of stillness, truly listening to God and being present in our relationships, we realign ourselves with God’s original design. After all, the most important voices in our lives should never have to compete for our attention.