My View
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“We set our eyes not on what we see but on what we cannot see. What we see will last only a short time, but what we cannot see will last forever.” 2 Corinthians 4:18
I have started to jog a mile a few times a week to build up to my former running pace since my knee surgery. I run around a field and begin by going south and then west. This morning it was cloudy as the morning light began to peek through the sky. As I turned to go north and then east, the brilliance of the morning sunrise filled the sky. I witnessed God’s glory as He began a new day. In that moment, I lifted my arms in praise and worship to God for His creation and for revealing to me His presence through the beauty of the morning sky.
God spoke to me about life through the morning sky. I can focus on the clouds and the darkness of my life – my grief, my pain, my sorrow, my anxiety, and my stress. It is real and is always a part of my life. My view of life can be negative which makes me feel overwhelmed and exhausted. Or I can keep moving and see the beauty even while the clouds are nearby. Both views are a part of life. Which one will be my focus is the question?
We can focus on the negatives of life. They are always present and around us constantly in the media. When we listen to others complain, it is easy to commiserate with them and follow their lead of negativity. Our view of life becomes clouded when we experience tragedy and loss. We feel the imbalance of life and fear the uncertainty of the future.
As I begin my next chapter of life, I have a choice. I could live in the regret of the past and my choices, or I can look at the experience as an adventure and learn and grow from it. I am trying to focus on what God has for me in this new chapter. To learn from the past, to be thankful for the relationship and to allow God to bring good out of it is my focus.
When I visit my ninety-eight-year-old friend, my view of life is put into perspective. When I asked Ray how he was doing spiritually, he said, “I am confident in where I am going, and I know God is with me each moment.” His focus is not on the decline of his physical body even though he sees and feels it daily, but on the hope of his future in Heaven. When I asked Ray how he was doing mentally and emotionally, he said, “I feel comfortable in my own skin.” I have been pondering this statement.
To be comfortable is to be content, free from stress, fear, and worry. It is having your needs met and being satisfied. Ray is truly comfortable in his own skin. To be comfortable and content has little to do with our material possessions and our physical body. Contentment and peace come from within us, our soul. I am becoming much more comfortable in my own skin. I am accepting my aging body for what it is and physically doing what I enjoy. Like my friend, Ray, I am not focusing on what I do not have or the bad that has happened in my life. I do not live in denial. It is real. The loss will always be evident in my life.
I am creating changes that will lead to a more content life. My focus is on following God’s path for my life. The path has sadness and hurt on it, but even though I have had to walk in the grief and loss, God has never left my side. I am learning to be content because God is with me. I am comfortable in my own skin alone. This is no longer a negative to me because even if I am physically alone, I am never alone within me. I have memories. I have moments that bring laughter and joy in those memories. I have my dog who is always by my side (or feet) which is where she currently resides.
I am setting my eyes on what is unseen because it lasts forever. While I desire to be comfortable and content in my new location, my deeper desire is to be comfortable in my own skin – in my own soul. It is not the life I chose, but it is the life I now have, and I am learning to be comfortable in it.
