Friday, January 20, 2012

Day 9 - Focus

I had a bit of a setback today.  I had my year mapped out - work, studies, ministry, life.  Today a huge bump appeared in the road (or rather a pothole): there's a 50% chance I won't be able to take the course for which I had registered if it's offered on Wednesday evenings rather than Tuesday mornings.

I am ashamed to say I had a bit of a freak out moment (as you can see, stress brings out my American English and all of its ensuing bad grammar). I had to stop myself and ask - Have I learned nothing about living in the present during this past week?  I took a deep breath and pulled on the reins of my mind.

The truth is, there's nothing I can do about it.  Things will either work out as planned or not.  If not, my year will just go differently than expected, so why worry?  I worry because I've moved my focus from the present and an awareness of God's love to my circumstances and perceived problem.

Living in the present doesn't mean that I turn off my intellect, ignore the challenges facing me, or even that I have to like the present.  Living in the present does mean that I shift my focus, which generally leads to a shift in perspective.


1 comment:

Elisabeth said...

Yes-it does. We are not so wired to do this, are we?
I'm thankful that our God is in the business of re-wiring!

P.S. Hey- Why you knockin' on the American English? It 'ain't that bad!:)