I wrote this scripture on the board of my daughter’s
hospital room a year-and-a-half ago. Day after day, it reminded me of God’s
promises. There was a purpose for her life—a blueprint, if you will—that went
far beyond what my husband and I could see or imagine. It told me that our
micropreemie—weighing less than two pounds—would not only be fine, she would also
have a phenomenal story to tell and a long life. I believed that deep in my
heart.
For 93 days I read that scripture, recited it aloud and
meditated on it. The experience was overwhelming and brought with it complicated
machines, regular testing, surgeries, setbacks followed by victories and
victories followed by setbacks. Sometimes
leaning on the scripture I mentioned became completely arduous. Our daughter’s
time in the hospital became a testimony for what God can do even when
circumstances seem bigger than life. Today she is healthy and shows no signs of
her difficult beginnings, but there were moments of weakness and weariness in
our circumstances that caused us to lose focus on what we believed in.
It is those “moments” that I’d like to explore briefly. At some
point in your life, you have probably experienced some sort of distraction that
interfered with a goal. Some distractions are unavoidable situations of life. Others
are meant for your personal growth …if only you don’t get stuck. It’s easy to
get stuck in any number of circumstances. For example you can get:
·
Stuck in not having the money
·
Stuck in not having the time
·
Stuck in not having the courage
·
Stuck in not having the resources
·
Stuck in not having the support
But if there were the chance that you’d get out of that rut
that’s trapping you from moving forward, would you? Would you be willing to
commit to the focus you lacked or gave up? Would you be willing to believe in a
higher plan for your prosperity, hope and future? If your answer is yes to any
of these questions, then congratulations! You’ve made the first step toward
discovering (or rediscovering) your focus.
So what’s my advice? Well, think of this commitment to focus
as a road trip. Know your starting point and your end point. Know when it’s
time to gas up and eat. Know what you need to take with you and who should be
riding shotgun. Decide where you will stop along the way and set a time for
getting back on the road. And oh yeah, don’t spend time looking in the rear
view mirror. You can’t make the trip if you’re constantly looking at what you
left so long ago.
