Choosing our own view
I’m not exactly sure what happened. The view from our window at 7am this particular Saturday morning included four police cars, one fire truck, one tow truck pulling a car from the pond-ish thing in front of our apartment, paramedics working at a frantic pace and then not at all, and two immodestly dressed women standing nearby who were being questioned by the police.Fast forward 48 hours. I was sitting on a lounge chair with a view of the Chattahoochee River on a beautiful sunny day. Aside from a woman excitedly speaking French (maybe) on her phone, the only thing I could hear was the gentle flow of the river. There were also a few children prancing around, enjoying the beginning of spring.I’m perfectly entitled to focus on either view. Both are real. Both evoke emotion. Both leave a lasting impression. Both will impact my state of mind, heart, and soul.If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my current season of life, it’s that I have a choice. I decide what to focus on. Another thing I’ve learned is that the peaceful view is not generally handed to us. We have to work to find it. But if we’re willing to keep looking, it’s there. Sometimes we even think we chose a good view, yet somehow it doesn’t live up to the promise and we have to refocus (i.e. a really bad apartment choice… ????????♀️).
Recently, Mark finally pulled on my heartstrings enough to have me agree to him taking Mo back with him after Easter while he preps for finals. The next day, Chris left for four days to do some work in California. This amounted to me being alone in a city where I know only a handful of peeps. I could go back to the same window I looked out of on that Saturday morning and choose that view, but instead I drove 30 minutes to find the view of the Chattahoochee River (and a killer coffee shop overlooking it, if you ever come to ATL).Please don’t read this as a pat on the back to me. I share this to encourage you. It’s by God’s grace and faithfulness alone that I got to this place. He helped me… and He wants to help you.What’s your current view? If it’s beautiful, don’t take it for granted. Literally, praise the Lord for all that is good. If it stinks right now, there may be things that are true that you cannot change, but maybe you need to find a new view… even if it just pours some courage in your tank to deal with the less than pleasant stuff.If you’re stuck, here are a few gentle questions to encourage you out of your rut:
What can you change?
For the things you can’t change…
What can you choose to focus on that will help your soul as you wait?
Is there a literal place you can steal away to for a few hours to remind your soul that you are loved, chosen, and not forgotten?
While you’re there, I encourage you, my fellow “children of the day,” to spend some time in 1 Thessalonians 5:5-11.
May we all put on the breastplate of faith and love as we keep our eyes on the Lord until our view matches the hope we have in Him!