Good morning…
Every holiday season, the attention of her grandmother was focused on who WAS NOT at the dinner table. “Joe should be with us.” “Tonight would be perfect if Katie was here.” “Nothing is complete without Angela and the kids.” My friend remembers thinking each year, “But, grandma, we ARE here and you are missing the good time we ARE having!”
Every holiday season, we chose where we focus our attention. Will we focus on what we think IS NOT right? Absent family members. Imperfect meal, gifts, decor. Dissatisfaction, disagreement, disappointment. Or will we focus our own attention on what God IS sparking within and around us? Surprise blessings. Meaningful conversations. Deep contentment with God beneath mixed emotions.
Those who trust God’s action in them find that God’s Spirit is in them—living and breathing God! Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life. Focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on God. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God, ends up thinking more about self than God. That person ignores who God IS and what he IS doing (Romans 8:6-8, MSG).
…Sue…
