Perspective

So, about a year ago, during a Sunday service, we were singing the song, Spirit of the Living God, and a phrase from the song got caught in my mind, and have been rolling back and forth for some time now. Here's a link in case you haven't heard it, or want a refresher :)

So the phrase that stuck was "It changes us, it changes what we see, and what we seek."
Now, in this particular song, this is talking about the Holy Spirit, but the phrase "what we see and what we seek" somehow really struck me that day, and at first, I started to consider what that means in my life. Not necessarily in respects to the Spirit, but to the idea of what am I seeing? So let me explain what I have been considering, and maybe this idea of perspective will stick with you too. I have lots of different takes on this, and I was thinking I might write a little mini-series on this topic and what I have been contemplating.

Have you ever played sports? If you are like me, and have dabbled in many different sports without actually sticking long term with any of them, there is something that holds true in most sports that changes how you play. From baseball to bowling, the phrase "Keep your eye on the ball" somehow rings true across the board. So when you go to throw a ball, be it baseball or football or whatever, you need to look where you are throwing. Seems simple right? Obviously, you are going to look where you are throwing. Having worked with my son when he was little, this technique is harder than you might imagine to grasp. But your throw with almost always go where you are looking. Now, whether you have the power to get it there, or the technique and so on is a different matter, but you have to position your head to look at where you are throwing. The same holds true in bowling. If you look at the pin you want to hit, you are far more likely to get the bowling ball where you want it. I would be interested to know if there is some reflex link that your arm follows you eyes, but I am not that far into neuroscience yet this summer, so stay tuned ;) but I digress.

So what you are looking at is where you end up, basically. So it made me really consider, what am I looking at? And I don't mean physically, of course. This speaks to focus. What is my focus, or what I am I seeing? What am I doing to get where I am looking? Because we all have dreams that we think about, big or small. And I am guessing, much like anyone, that I 'look' or think about where I want to be or what I want to be doing as often as the next person.

A couple months after this phrase got stuck in the back of my mind, Pastor Rob spoke on a Wednesday night about focus. And it was like rehitting this same nail on the head. This idea of what am I looking at has really made me stop and consider things in my life. Zach and I have made some very solid choices about where we want to be, and what it will take to get there. And it is very easy in the day to day, often drudgery, of life to forget the focus. When it is 2 am, and I am just finishing up a test, and I am exhausted, and have a list of things a mile long that I could just stay up and do, it is very easy to think none of this is worth while. That I should just throw in the towel and call it a day.

So, I want to know...where are you looking? What are you seeing? And how does it change your daily life?