A: Dear Patty,

Regarding your studies, I know it can be difficult focusing on your work. For some people it is harder than others. I am the type of person that needs perfect silence when I am working on something, while I know other people who wouldn’t mind all kinds of noise going on around them. It sounds like you are a bit like me when it comes to needing peace and quiet! One thing to remember, however, is that the Bible tells us that we should “rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope…” (Romans 5:3-4 ). We can’t always have things the way we want them with no distractions, but when we have those distractions, we can learn to master our circumstances so that we don’t allow the distractions to bother us as much. It is situations like these that build our characters

Of course, you can also try to find a more quiet spot away from all the commotion where you can concentrate better on your work, and save the work that requires the most concentration for quieter times, for example, when the baby goes down for a nap. Pray and ask Jesus to help you concentrate, and He will!

Thanks for writing, and remember, there's never been a better time to share Jesus!

Your friend, Pastor Howard

*Note: All Scripture references are from the English Standard Version unless otherwise indicated.