FOCUS

Focus is important in many areas of life and not just any focus will do.

Have you ever looked at something for so long that your eyes became out of focus? The object of interest looked blurrier rather than clearer. It is much the same way with life. When we hyperfocus on a problem, we cannot see a solution because our view is blurred. I found this true for myself in several areas. Our family has had some issues with finances over the years. Some times I find myself worrying that I'll never get to do the things I want to in the future because I'm barely surviving now. Even at my age, I still have a long list of dreams I want to fulfill; nevertheless, time, money and other distractions take my focus away from the hope of ever achieving them because I am hyper-focused on the problem hindering me. In those instances, if I look away for a while and then back, I find refreshment and can once again look with untainted vision.

For the Christian, the real focal point is Christ. This being said, we have a unique perspective; we can look in the direction of our problems with Him in the center of it all and the problem on the outskirts. Talk about hope!

There is yet another situation where focus is skewed--when we look at the wrong thing. We want to head in one direction while looking in the opposite. One of my kids was famous for this when he first came to us. We signed him up for community soccer and noticed that he ran all over the soccer field in the opposite direction of the ball! On he went, yacking, giggling and then stopping with his back to the ball! WHACK! The ball would smack into the back of his head and send him skidding across the grass, with nose planted deeply in the wet sod.

I've done a bit of this myself lately. Facebook can be a great communication tool but also a big distraction. From childhood, I've felt a call on my life to do certain things. Loving and communicating with people is part of that and Facebook can be a wonderful avenue to show God's love. It can also be a huge time waster.

I don't know if I will totally be able to break my addiction to reading humerous quips and updates on my friends several times a day but one thing I do know is that I need to re-evaluate whether I am making the most fruitful use of my time when I am on there. Again, I'm not knocking the need for levity/ entertainment. Nor am I saying it is a waste of time to converse, even in the simplest forms like Facebook or Chat programs. What I do feel is the need to acknowledge where my focus should be and keep that a priority.

Other things can be distractions: housework, chores, bills, blogging, meetings and activities (yes, even church) as well as our goals themselves. We must discern what is our calling and what is fluff. We must know where we are to engage and where to disengage, searching until we look at life like one peereing through an opera glass, totally focused on where we need to be and when. Personally, the prayer on my lips is "Let me see this world as though I were looking through Your eyes, Lord." Often, my eyes miss that vision.

In short, Christians are called to run a race...AND WIN IT! That can't be done while keeping one's eyes focused only on the sidelines. The goal or goals are before us. Let's keep them in focus!