Fix Your Focus

​Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…Hebrews 12:2

My grandkids are the light of my life!  I have so much more time to notice and enjoy my grandkids.  When I was a mom and the kids were sleeping or content, I was running Mach 10 with my hair on fire trying to get things done but with the grandkids, everything else just gets put on hold.  I’m thrilled with they come and sad when they leave but after they go home, there are always little traces of them left behind and my favorite is their little handprints on the doors and windows.  The other day after they all went home, I was trying to read, and I just couldn’t seem to focus on the book.  Once I took off my glasses to rub my eyes, I realized the problem…fingerprints, nose prints and water splashes from the kiddie pool covered my lenses.  Once I cleaned them up things were good as new but as I stood there wiping my lenses clean, I soaked up the memories of an awesome, smudgy day.
 
Those clean glasses changed everything, and it got me to thinkin.  Sometimes we see life like I was trying to see the words on a page through my smudgy glasses.  Things can get so cloudy and distorted and if we look at things that way for long, everything we see seems cloudy. Maybe it’s time to clean our lenses a little and clear away some of the fuzz that can not only bother our eyes but our hearts and attitudes as well.  Later this week, we will celebrate Independence Day.  It’s a lovely summer holiday that has such a deep meaning.  During an election year things have a tendency to get fuzzy for sure!  Maybe we need to clean up our lenses as we celebrate on the 4th and realize that the truth about our Independence, is that it was deeply steeped in God and faith and religious freedom.  The great part about our independence is that it should make us completely dependent on the Father.  If the days and times we’re in the middle of seem pretty fuzzy compared to what our Forefathers intended, maybe we need to stop looking so much at Washington D.C. and start focusing in on God the Father and pray for this great nation.

The way we see things is more important than what we actually see.  We don’t have to look very hard to see troublesome things and worrisome people but there is always another lens to look through.  When all we see is rotten, everything we see is fuzzy like my glasses were the other day.  It’s not a new problem for sure.  Think about Adam and Eve.  They lived in a huge and luscious garden.  That garden was a paradise filled with more trees, plants, animals and beauty than we can even imagine.  In the midst of all the splendor of the garden, God said they could have it all except the fruit from one tree.  Now, there were more trees than they could probably even count and more delicious food to eat than they could stuff down but they couldn’t take their gaze from the ONE thing they were told wasn’t for them.  It’s no wonder we lose track of all the things we have when we get stuck on the one thing we don’t have.

Why is it that we can receive many positive comments and compliments and enjoy many lovely conversations in a week, but we stick like glue to one negative thing someone said or suggested?  How many times do we go to Google or to friends for answers and grab the information and ideas like they are golden, but we don’t pick up Scripture and seek the Father’s truth and encouragement.  I wonder how many times we put more stock in memes and quotes than in the words of Jesus?  The truth is the words that clear up the fuzzy lenses we go through life with are so simple.  Jesus said in times of trouble, stand firm and trust in the Father.  Jesus said, trust in the Lord with all your heart.  Jesus told us that His ways are not our ways and He said again and again, look and act with great love.  If Adam and Eve had done any of those things the story would have looked so different.
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The Lord NEVER gives us less and even when His ways aren’t clear, His plan is perfect and the first step to seeing this is to clean your lenses and focus on the things you have and not the things you don’t, or the things others have. The second thing is to ask the Father what you need to do to fulfill His plan instead of worrying about what others are or are not doing. The third step is to ask constantly for the Lord to soften your heart and help you see with His eyes, ask Him to help you see the good because that’s HIM, the rest is not of Him. Things don’t always look like they seem, ask the Father for clarity and the ability to see Him in all things because If you can’t see God in all things, you won’t be able to see God in anything.

A Seed To Plant:  Make a list of situations or people you need to look at differently.
Blessings on your day!