I had a discussion with a man who has tried to turn his life completely over to God, but has been discouraged because of all of the daily distractions that make it an extremely difficult thing to accomplish.  Well, that just goes to show you – that man is human just like the rest of us.  How many of us can honestly say that we’ve turned our life, 100%, over to God and never fell back to our human weaknesses – once again trying to take back control over some aspect of our life or feeling some lack of trust in our Lord’s provision?  Even Simon Peter, whose faith was so strong, Jesus called him the “Rock” showed his human frailty when he showed doubt while walking to Jesus on the sea of Galilee.  Our faith walk is a lifetime journey.  Unfortunately, most of us don’t travel the shortest route, but rather wander off the road at times and need to find our way back.  Yes, life is full of distractions that take us off course.  Satan works very hard to make sure that happens – particularly when a Christian is earnestly seeking spiritual growth and a closer relationship with Jesus Christ.  So how do we avoid these pitfalls?  Let me make the analogy of our faith walk to the hiker who must use his compass to assure he is heading in the right direction.  If he consults his compass frequently, he is likely to remain reasonably on course.  However, if he neglects to check the compass for long periods of time, he can find himself seriously off course.  We “check the compass” in our spiritual journey by bringing Jesus into our lives so that our thoughts turn to Him often - throughout the day.  We can do this by finding ways to keep our focus on Him each and every day.  Each of us may find different ways to accomplish this. For me, I start each day by spending 30 minutes alone with God, reading the bible, devotionals, and in prayer and another brief reading as a “nightcap”. Also, I constantly remind myself that my performance at my job is utilizing His gifts and that my job is His calling for me at this point in my career. So, when challenging situations arise in my job, there’s always the sense of His Presence and He provides the guidance or the patience that may be needed at that particular moment.  You may have discovered other helpful methods that work for you.  The important thing is to invite God into your life - morning, noon and night; to find ways to immerse yourself in His Light.  As you learn to recognize Him as your constant companion, guide and comforter, you will find that you wander less and less from the path that you have chosen.