20/20 Vision

Lightning cracked through the salty, early-morning air waking Tom and Jen. They jumped out of bed and hurried to the upper deck of their yacht to put down the sails and stow various deck items in preparation for the impending storm. Hours later, after the squall had passed Tom had a throbbing headache and noticed that everything seemed to look fuzzy to him. Jen told him she felt the same way.

Strange. Was it something about the storm that had passed through? Something they had eaten? Finally they realized that in their rush to secure the boat early that morning, they had mistakenly switched their glasses. Jen was wearing Tom’s lenses, and Tom had Jen’s. The prescriptions were similar enough that the blunder wasn’t immediately discovered.

As a parent, it’s easy for me to inadvertently see through the wrong lenses too. I can at times become far-sighted, focusing on how grateful I’ll be to move on to the next stage. At other times, I am near-sighted, unable to see beyond our current day which may have been filled with repeated corrections for disobedience, sickness, unending needs or missed sleep. These challenges can suck away my joy as fast as a hungry toddler can down a sippy cup of chocolate milk!

Yet as followers of Christ, we are called to “do all things without grumbling or disputing.” Philippians 2:14.

Does that feel like as much of a challenge for you as it does to me? If so, take heart! Paul gives us further direction for how to stay focused and keep our hearts from spiraling down into the turbulent waters of self-pity or dismay.

He encourages us to

• Stay focused on our calling and our end goal (Phil 3:12-14).
• Be characterized by gentleness, knowing that this life is temporary and the Lord is near (Phil 4:5).
• Pray about everything. He says that by telling God what we need and thanking Him for all He’s done, we can avoid anxiety and enjoy supernatural peace in our hearts and minds (Phil 4:6-7).
• Dwell on thoughts that are true, good, and worthy of praise (Phil 4:8).
• Be content knowing that He will empower us to do whatever He has called us to do (Phil 4:12-13).

Whether we have a tendency to be near-sighted in our perspective toward parenting or far-sighted, God’s Truth corrects our vision by giving us the right prescription. This clear focus has the power to restore our joy regardless of our circumstances!