Several years ago my mother gave me her old Roomba. This automatic robotic vacuum cleaner has been a blessing. I was complaining to her about the way our dog Roxy sheds. (According to my daughter, “She sheds like she’s dying!” Not sure where she got that… Me, she got that from me.) No more tumbling tumbleweeds of dog hair when someone opens a drafty door. The girls named the Roomba Wall-E—everything needs a name when there are little girls in the house. 

It never fails, every morning while I’m loading down the coffee maker Wall-E and I do a little dance. I try to step towards the sink, but she’s already anticipated my footwork and beats me there. The same happens again when I step towards the coffee pot. So, I end up doing this little move, where I’m standing barefoot on a cold tile floor, I pick up one foot and let her pass, then the other and let her pass. The whole thing looks ridiculous, I’m sure. I hobble there grumbling under my breath and complaining about this little nuisance. It dawned on me during one of these episodes, how blessed I am to be griping about an ELECTRIC AUTOMATIC VACUUM CLEANER, CLEANING MY FLOORS FOR ME. How easy it is for blessings to be the things we complain about. How easy it is for blessings to become curses. How easy it is for us to lose sight of things and become frustrated with trivialities.

Yes, it is annoying. I just want coffee and this little lady works like a James Bond villain trying to distract me from my mission. Not today lady! Yes, it is annoying that she sounds a little like a jet at take-off—making it hard to think, or talk… or think. Yes, as I write this she is bumping into the bottom leg of my chair at the kitchen table. She is annoying. I sometimes want her to die, but I try to remember I hate the dog hair more. 

My point is this: Sometimes you have something that annoys you, but try to remember why it’s there. I think people can lose sight of this with lots of things. Do you ever feel this way about your spouse? Don’t forget the way you felt on your wedding day, the reason you picked them. Do you ever feel this way about your job? “This job is the worst!”  No, not providing for your family is worse; not paying your bills is worse. Do you ever feel this way about coming to Bible classes or worship? Imagine for a moment, what it would be like to lose the ability to go—now, how do you feel? Don’t get so distracted and annoyed by the trivial things that you lose sight of the big things that actually matter! We cannot afford to become so annoyed at little things that we forget the overwhelming blessings we have. 

The Roomba named Wall-E is the temporary distraction. Satan is the real threat. He will get under your feet and in your head. If he can, he will distract you from what you really need to be doing. He will work against you at every turn. Before you even realize what is happening, you are farther from the ‘coffee pot’ than you ever dreamed you’d be. He will leave you feeling confused and conflicted, corrupted and crying. The coffee and Roomba are nothing compared to sin and Satan. 

Don’t let your blessings distract you from the true blessing. God warns Israel of this very thing happening to them when they went into Canaan (see Deuteronomy 6:10-15). 

Note: I wrote most of this article months ago. The Roomba has since died, I killed it.