Focus on God

Thoughts on a tragedy

A young mom, much younger than me, died. Her oldest daughter and my youngest were in the same class years ago. Cancer took this beautiful young mom away from her three young kids.

I thought to myself, if this was me what would I want my kids to know? What would I want to leave them?

Thankfully, my kids are much older and I’ve had many years to teach, love and encourage them. But what would I have said to them when they were young, if I knew I was going to leave them on their own?

I thought about this long and hard. What jewels of wisdom could I bestow?

After a bit I realized it was the same message that I settled on as my parenting goal. Years ago, I decided the message I most wanted my kids to learn was the importance of knowing and loving God. Followed closely by the awareness of how much He loves them. The first message was most important to me. I wanted them to understand that this is a choice and an action they can take. The second, God’s love – it is there regardless of what they choose. It is a given!

All the advice I could muster was subservient to this message. Love God and know He loves you.

For my part I mourn for this lost life and for her family that has to face life without her.

Psalm 34:11 Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

Look to God

These are strange days. You know it. I know it. Something has gone wrong and everything that was chugging along nicely, now seems disconnected and broken. Relationships that used to be easy are now strained. Ideas that used to be commonly held are now questioned. Beliefs that were once respected are now considered immoral.

No matter where you come from the world is out of step. We no longer stand on firm ground. This uncertainty is making people angry and frustrated. We want to force our view on others, we want to fix the problems as we see them. This urge is visible everywhere.

As God’s people, what do we do?

First, we remember who is the great foundation of our life. We look to the rock on which we built our house. Focus on God.

Second, we emulate God. We “walk in the way of love.” By doing this we serve those around us, but we can also create a sense of stability. In the same way a flotation device offers safety to a drowning man. We can be that ‘something’ that people hang onto.

Third, we look to God for strength. We are not strong enough to tackle this world and its trials, but God is. Lean on him. Lean into His love and His salvation.

None of these actions are easy. It will take firmness of character.

What I am suggesting is radical. Stop listening to the world and its directions. Focus on God.

Ephesians 5: 15-16 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

Seeking a path forward

I’ve had a lot of adjusting to do lately. The night my husband had a stroke everything changed. Our financial situation changed, the dynamic in our family changed, and even my husband’s personality changed.

We joke about it because you may as well laugh when you can. I tell him I feel like I’m living in a bad soap opera and I woke up married to his evil twin. He insists that he’s new and improved! Either way it’s an adjustment.

Every day has been uncertain. A year and a half of putting one foot in front of the other and unable to see where we are going. This has been a struggle. We are doing our best to adapt, but it isn’t easy to say the least.

When I was a child we hiked a lot as a family. There is a particular feeling that comes when you’ve been walking through the bush, only able to see a short way in front and keeping your eye focused on the path and suddenly the trees thin out and you find yourself in an open space. An alpine meadow with vistas that take your breath away. One moment you can only see the tangles of trees and shrubs, the next you are awestruck by the broadness and majesty of the view.

This is where my hope lies. I hope that if I just keep walking at some point the brush will thin out and I’ll have a view that takes my breath away. The reality is this may not come in this life, but whether God reveals his hand to me now or later this is my hope.

The path can be so convoluted and hard to find. Good thing Jesus told us what to do. We don’t need to find the path or our way forward. We need to focus on him. The rest is just noise. I need to keep my eyes fixed on Him and pursue Him.

Matthew 6: 31-33 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

The world around us is spinning, wilder and more out of control. It is harder to see the problems as distant. The troubles of the world seep into our homes and everyday lives. How do we keep our own hearts from despair?

There is one option; keep your eyes on God. Focus your gaze upward. Lean into His loving arms. This is the way to keep the problems of the world at bay. The world cannot touch or corrupt what we give to God. They can take our possessions. They can take our lives. But they cannot take our souls. They cannot touch what belongs to God.

The first thing to recognize is that worry and concern are human. God knows our humanity, he understands how hard it is for us to not focus on the turmoils of life. Once we acknowledge our shortcomings and our concerns we then ask what next?

It is a matter of focus. A young teenager wakes up and finds a pimple on his forehead. It is all he can see. He spends the day covering it with his bangs or hat, leaning his hand on his forehead and turning his face away. His is focused on the problem. By the end of the day the blemish is larger and even more noticeable. His whole body and mind is affected by a small blemish that will go away in a couple days.

What if he turned from the mirror, forgot its presence, joked about it, or put the concern where it should go, in a temporary problem category? He’d still have the pimple. It may even still cause embarrassment, but he’d be able to carry on and live his life. His attitude would keep the problem in check.

This may seem a silly example, but this is what we need to try to do. I am not minimizing problems. The problems in life are terrifying and real. We need to remember that we have a home with God. Focusing on this will help us see our struggles as temporary. It’s a question of scale.

John 14: 1-3 Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God;
believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so,
would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take
you to be with me that you also may be where I am.