Part of the reason the last couple months have gone by in the blink of an eye is because they have been full. I've had fun getting out the fall decorations and decking out our home for a new season. And doing some fall baking is always something I look forward to!
I've been blessed to be able to spend some time with two of our children and their families. On Labor Day weekend my husband had to work all weekend and I had the time off, so when he suggested that I do something - I did! I made a quick trip 6 hours south to see our daughter and her family as well as a very dear friend. My friend and I enjoyed some much-needed "girl time" - staying up late talking, breakfast by her pool as well as a little time in the pool. Then on to my daughter's where I thoroughly enjoyed playing with my 4 granddaughters, worship with them on Sunday, and a fun excursion to a nearby walking trail and cafe on Labor Day before I had to head home. It was such a blessing to see them and enjoy the time together!
The end of September brought a visit from our older son and his family, who hadn't been here since Christmas. As the grandchildren are getting older and are in school, and since our son has pastoral responsibilities it is getting harder to schedule times with them. We made the most of the window of opportunity provided by a teacher's conference, and we had such a good time together playing lots of board games, making caramel apples, going shopping, doing some crafts, going swimming at our fitness center, and just having fun together.Soon afterwards I embarked on another trip - a more bittersweet one. Due to their advancing age and declining health, my parents made the move from their own home to an assisted living center. My siblings have done most of the legwork involved with that but in October I took several days off work and flew to Chattanooga, where my siblings and I finished cleaning out their house, sorting and pricing things for sale, and holding an estate sale. That was a difficult trip in many ways, not just physically, but also the memories brought back by many of their belongings, and helping my parents to adjust to their new surroundings. Again, I was thankful for this brief time together.
And the big event of the past two months was the birth of our 11th grandchild - a son was born to our youngest son and his wife. Levi Christian arrived on October 12, weighing in at a healthy 8 lbs. 12 oz. and welcomed by his big brother and sister! We won't get to meet Levi for awhile yet because they live on the west coast but we are thankful that we get to Facetime with them.
Blog writers tend to write about all the good and exciting things, because who wants to read about the difficulties? Lest you think that the past two months have been nothing but wonderful, let me assure you there have been many things that have been less than wonderful. We have had some severe storms, both literally in our area and figuratively in our lives. And when I was considering what to write about in this post and thought over the events of the past two months, do you know what came to my mind? The sad things, the hard things, and the situations we are praying over because we don't know what to do about them.
It wasn't until I started looking at my photos from the same time period (I am a big picture-taker!) that I realized all the special and good things that had taken place. I had been focusing on the storms and not the good times. Being mindful of my tendency to do this, I have been meditating on Colossians 3:2: "Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things."
The word "set" when I studied it is interesting - it means not only to focus, but to be "firmly planted." Something that is firmly planted is not going to easily topple over or move.
There are so many "earthly things" that I focus on, and when I made my list I noticed they all started with a "P"! People. Problems (especially those, right?) The past. Plans for the future. And possessions.
When I focus my mind on any and all of these things, I am taking my mind off the eternal things. You can only truly focus on one thing at a time. Did you ever try to focus your sight on two things at once? It can't be done. One or the other is going to fade into the background. The things that have eternal value and the Lord Himself is where my focus needs to be.
Another verse I love that the Lord brought to my mind was 2 Cor. 10:5 - "Casting down imagination, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ." Casting down means to remove! And that word imagination is very thought-provoking - it encompasses our reasoning and our ways, trying to figure out the past and the future. If I spend so much time analyzing the past and the future, I miss out on the present.
The verse goes on to say "and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God." These things that I am dwelling on are competing for my focus! They keep me from really knowing God and what he wants me to learn and experience from Him. I need to intentionally (my word for 2018) focus on letting God capture my thoughts, realizing that my thoughts are the basis for how I feel and what I do. "For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he."
What kind of things are you focusing on today?
Lovingly,
Kathi
