FOCUS.
That’s my word for the year because, well, 2020.

When I was in 2nd grade I got glasses.

I walked out of the optometrist’s office and said,
“Wow, I never noticed that church steeple before.”

I went to school and said,
“Wow, I can see the chalkboard from the back of the room now.”

I sat down to watch Gunsmoke on TV and said,
“Wow, I don’t have to squint anymore.”

I didn’t realize how much I’d been missing until my first pair of cat-eye glasses helped me focus. The steeple, the blackboard and the TV didn’t change, but my ability to see was altered by those corrective lenses and everything around me changed.

I have a feeling there are beautiful sights in front of me
that I’m not noticing.

Maybe there are lessons for me to learn if I step back
and get a deeper perspective.

It’s likely I’m trying too hard, straining to sharpen
what seems blurred and confusing.

I need the corrective lens of God’s truth to bring perspective and clarity to this nebulous, secular culture. I need the light of God’s Word to distinguish what’s true and what’s false. Most of all, I need to keep my eyes on Jesus.

“Stay focused on Jesus, who designed and perfected our faith.”
(Heb. 12:2)

This is my prayer for 2020 vision:
“Open my eyes, that I may see glimpses of truth Thou has for me;
Place in my hands the wonderful key that shall unclasp and set me free.
Silently now, I wait for Thee, ready, my God, Thy will to see.
Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine.”