Is God Redirecting Me… or Am I Just Easily Distracted?
On the very last day of 2025, I found myself tidying up my daughter’s room.
Not a full overhaul. Just one of those quiet, end-of-year resets. Sorting books back onto shelves. Picking up small things that had somehow travelled from one corner of the room to another. Letting go of a few toys she had clearly outgrown.
It wasn’t dramatic. But as I stood there, holding things that once felt important and now didn’t quite fit anymore, a familiar thought surfaced.
Am I holding onto things simply because I used to choose them?
Or is it okay to admit that something no longer belongs in this season?
And then, almost naturally, that deeper question followed. The one I hear so many women quietly wrestle with.
Is God redirecting me… or am I just easily distracted?
If you have ever asked yourself that, especially in moments when life finally slows down, you are not alone. And you are not broken for wondering.
A Question Many Thoughtful Women Carry
The beginning of a new year does not always feel energetic or exciting.
Sometimes it feels honest.
There is space to notice the ideas that never quite landed. The plans that stalled halfway through. The subtle sense that something needs to change, even if you cannot yet explain what.
And when you are someone who values faith, responsibility, and stewarding your time well, that uncertainty can feel uncomfortable. You may start questioning yourself.
Why can’t I just stay focused?
Why does this feel misaligned when it looked so right before?
Why am I even questioning this again?
Let me say this gently, as a friend would across the table.
This is not a failure question.
It is often a sign that you are paying attention.
Before we label ourselves as distracted or inconsistent, it is worth slowing down and listening a little more closely.
Why This Question Shows Up in Quiet Seasons
Discernment questions rarely show up when life is loud and chaotic.
They tend to surface when things finally quiet down.
At the start of a new year, there is often less external noise. Fewer deadlines. A bit more breathing room. And in that space, your heart finally has room to speak.
For thoughtful, capable women, this is especially true.
You are not flaky.
You are not unstable.
You are processing.
There is a difference between moving because something is new and shiny, and moving because something no longer feels true. From the outside, and sometimes even from the inside, those two can look the same.
Women who care deeply about faith and stewardship tend to wrestle with this question more, not less. They want alignment, not just momentum. That desire alone can stir discomfort before clarity arrives.
Distraction and Discernment Can Feel Similar
Here is the tricky part. Distraction and discernment can feel surprisingly alike.
Both involve movement.
Both involve restlessness.
Both may require stepping away from what once felt right.
But their inner tone is different.
Distraction often feels rushed. There is pressure. A sense of reacting to what is loud, urgent, or trending. The movement is quick, but it does not bring peace.
Discernment, on the other hand, is slower. Sometimes uncomfortably slow. It often begins with a quiet realization that something no longer fits. Not because it was wrong, but because it is complete.
Discernment rarely arrives with fireworks.
Redirection does not usually come with a perfectly clear plan or a confident announcement. More often, it starts as a gentle nudge toward simplification, long before you know what the next step looks like.
And if you are someone who values clarity, that in-between space can feel deeply uncomfortable.
Why We Are So Quick to Blame Ourselves
If you are a high-capacity woman managing a home, work, family rhythms, and responsibilities, self-doubt can quietly disguise itself as humility.
You are used to being reliable. To following through. To holding things together.
So when uncertainty shows up, the inner dialogue often sounds like this.
If I were more disciplined, I would not feel this way.
If I were more focused, I would already know what to do.
If I were more faithful, God would not feel so quiet right now.
But here is something I have had to remind myself, more than once.
Not every pause is procrastination.
Not every change of direction is inconsistency.
Scripture reminds us that clarity often unfolds step by step.
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
A lamp does not flood the whole road with light. It shows you just enough for the next step.
A Gentle Way to Listen Without Deciding Yet
If you are in a season of questioning, you do not need to rush to conclusions.
You do not need to announce anything.
You do not need to justify your uncertainty.
You do not need to fix the feeling.
Instead, consider giving yourself permission to listen.
Here are a few questions I often return to, not to decide, but simply to notice.
What feels heavy right now?
Not what should feel meaningful, but what consistently drains you.
What feels quietly life-giving, even if it is unclear?
The things that bring calm or gentle energy, even without a clear outcome.
Where do I feel rushed, and where do I feel invited?
Pressure and invitation feel very different in both the body and the heart.
Sit with these without urgency. Let patterns emerge naturally. Discernment is not about labeling yourself. It is about creating enough stillness to hear what is already forming.
January Is Not for Answers. It Is for Attention.
We often treat January as the month for decisions. Resolutions. Declarations.
But what if January is actually for attention?
For noticing what no longer aligns.
For clearing space mentally and emotionally before rebuilding.
For admitting that something once good may simply be finished.
You do not need clarity on everything yet.
Sometimes faithfulness looks less like bold action and more like quiet obedience. Staying still long enough to hear.
“In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”
Direction often comes after acknowledgment, not before.
A Gentle Reminder Before You Go
If you have been asking whether you are being redirected or just distracted, let me say this, friend to friend.
You are not lost.
You are listening.
And that matters more than you think.
You do not need to criticize yourself for the question. You do not need to rush past it. And you certainly do not need to arrive at a polished answer right now.
Sometimes the most faithful thing we can do at the beginning of a new season is simply this.
Slow down.
Listen without judgment.
Trust that clarity often unfolds quietly, in its own time.
I’ll be sharing more on these themes in The Karis Post, if you’d like to continue the conversation there.
