Out of Focus?!

And so it begins…the hustle and bustle of fall right into winter and the feeling of being able to settle down, after spring cleaning, and rest. Yet it seems like that time to rest is unobtainable. As a parent, those feeling began in the beginning of August. I tried to mentally prepare myself for the start of a new school year, working a full time job and handling my church obligations. When my plans began to mix with my husbands and then my children’s plans comingling with my husbands and mine, I felt like I was about to lose my mind! Running, running, running without time to properly prepare, left me feeling not only mentally drained, but physically and spiritually as well. Maybe you don’t have a spouse or children, but anytime you are in contact with others, whether it’s positive or negative, it seem to have a way of slipping into your personal space and pulling your focus away.

I sat with my boss today and we were sharing our experiences over the last few weeks. We both shared how life had found a way of making us seem like we were being pulled in all different directions. She went on to tell me this experience:

While waiting for her mother to get blood work done, she sat in the hallway of a doctor’s office. She happened to look down the hall and see an eye exam chart. For a moment she wondered why it would be there. Standing, she began to walk towards the chart. As her focus was pulled in on the chart, she felt like no one else was in the area. As she stepped closer, the chart became clearer and when she stepped back it was unclear. After several exchanges of stepping forwards and back, a nurse came and asked if she was alright.

What she heard in her spirit on this day was undeniable. She felt like the Lord revealed to her his awesomeness. Looking at the chart the largest letter is an ‘E.’ The ‘E’ on that chart, that day didn’t represent having poor vision if it were the only letter that she had been able to see, but that Elohim is above it all! When she began to focus on the chart, everything and everyone else in that hallway blended into the background. When she made the move to step forward, what was in front of her became clear and unclear when she stepped back.

I believe that this is how we live our lives. Sometimes we’re close to God and focused on him. We can’t say enough about how good he is and how he can move mountains and we have the devil under our feet. But then life continues to roll and with each new day something else pulls our attention away. We sing a song and the first verse says: “You dance over me, while I am unaware. You sing all around, but I never hear the sound.” Every morning, God sings to us a new song for our new day and we are so distracted that we can’t enjoy the peaceful melody.

My prayer, for all those who believe, is that God’s song would be forever present, heard, and felt in our lives so that we can give our full attention to what he has designed for our life. I also pray that whenever we feel like our focus is being pulled away, our spirits would remind us that our dance partner is waiting patiently for us to return and join Him!