Stevo's Devos: Re-focus?

The past few weeks have been filled with conversation about needing change, hoping for something different, and a myriad of other issues that need to be rethought as our political process churns towards a Fall election. In the midst of these conversations is a determination to focus energy and attention on the way things are here. Without intending to politicize this space, the question I have today is, how will we refocus this energy without concentrating solely on ourselves?

It would seem that we spend an enourmous time in our culture spending our money and time creating a style, a look, or a series of looks, that we wish to use in order to define ourself. Some of the time we may look to the owning of stuff as one way of defining who we are. Othertimes it might be where we eat, or even what we eat, that we think will determine who we are, or set the standard upon which we measure everyone else. When we are caught up in this self-examination, we often tend to get lost in our own reflection. Sometimes this leads to getting confused about the image we see in the mirror and the actual image of ourselves that others see. Our focus, if you will, becomes so narrow that we are unable to see around us, capturing the larger picture.

What does this have to do with God?

When we open our lives up to discovering God the picture gets a bit broader. We realize our connectedness to others in our immediate community and globally. We discover that our actions do matter and that we must discover ways to look beyond ourselves to make connections that encourage healing and wholeness instead of connections that make us feel as if we will never amount to much.

Crushed spirit? Filled with dashed hopes? Stranded on the desert island from a shipwrecked career, or relationship?

The hardest thing to do is to discover ways to let yourself discover a community of caring people who can moor your lifeboat to the source of life, God. Reconnecting to people who have discovered the freeing life of following, can give you the courage to move forward and refocus your life on new terms. You have been wonderfully created to a life of purpose and meaning. If you feel the need for a little spiritual checkup, stop by this week and discover the spaciousness of God. Breathe deep, and don't let the world around you use the "autofocus" feature on your window into a loving, caring way of living.