Monday, January 12, 2015

Good Bye Blurry Vision

    Focus.  A central point. Attention. The clear and sharply defined condition of an image. To concentrate. Clear vision. There's a saying, "You become what you focus on." If that statement is true, what are you becoming and maybe an even better question is who are you becoming. Are you becoming like Jesus as you rest in His presence while trusting Him? Or are you becoming a worrier being consumed with problems? I know for me this season, the Lord is really challenging my focus, what is captivating my attention, and who I am becoming. I need His focus like never before.


    I wear glasses for reading, driving at night, working on a computer, for far away objects... ya know for some important necessitates in life! I do not have to wear them all the time but they help bring clarity so I can make out details of objects around me and be able to focus on things I could not see without them. I remember the first time I put my glasses on, it was like a whole new world. I was on the 4th floor of a very tall  building. I remember looking a bunch of trees and being able to make out every detail of the leaves as they were blowing in the wind. Before glasses they were just lumps, nothing special, but when I put on my brand new glasses- Wow! It was like I was seeing trees for the first time in years. I could read signs far away that were blurry before and the worst part about it was until I put glasses on, I didn't know how blurry my vision was.  I couldn't believe the details of regular life I was missing out on! My vision was blurred and my eyes physically could not focus.

    I believe the same is true with our walk with Christ- and believe me, I am preaching to myself! When we are not focused on the Lord, things become blurry. Life becomes out of focus. We can get confused about the simplest things. BUT when we begin to look at life through Christ's perspective, His eyes, His perfect 20/20 vision,  all the sudden everything becomes crystal clear and in focus. Sometimes we do not even understand how blurry our sight is until we start looking with Christ's eyes, like me and my glasses. I didn't even realize what I was missing until the first time I put my glasses on and could actually see! When Christ becomes the center of our focus we begin to have peace with situations we might still not understand. It's easier to love those around us. We forgive quicker. Financial issues are not so scary. We have unspeakable joy. When we chose to focus on the Lord with our whole hearts, things of this world become dim and we can see with clear, heavenly vision and perspective. My prayer for you (and myself) this season and the beginning of 2015 is that as you focus on the Lord and rest in His presence you will begin to see things differently- you will be focused on the author and perfecter of your faith and that He will do just that- perfect everything that concerns you because HE loves YOU!
Xoxo, Natalie

"Therefore having being surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders us and the sin that so easily entangles us, let us keep running with endurance the race set before us, FIXING OUR ATTENTION ON JESUS, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who in view of the joy set before Him, endured the cross, disregarding it's shame, and has set down at the right hand of God." Heb. 12:1-2

"SET (FOCUS) your minds on things above, not on things that are on Earth." Col 3:2

"You will keep perfectly peaceful the one whose mind remains FOCUSED on you, because he remains in you." Is. 26:3