auto-focus; conditioning my mind

If only it were that easy... to set my mind to auto-focus.  Time and time again recently, I have been struck by the concept that if I would just zoom out a bit, take a look at things from a broader perspective - how much simpler it all suddenly seems.  Whether it is a momentary struggle, a tough relationship dynamic, a current season with a kiddo, a mindset I am stuck in, or any other number of things... I find myself constantly determined to zoom out and view it from a broader perspective.  It is so easy to get stuck in the emotions and the feelings of right now.  And then I remember that all of this will fade.  It will change and morph and feel differently in a moment's time.  

I look back on the things that have happened in life - however challenging or amazing they might have been.  I find myself acutely aware of how differently I feel now, simply with the passing of time.  And how much more so will that be the case when I see things from eternity.  Oh, the battles I can avoid, the angst I can forgo.  Not to mention, the joy in which I can walk - despite my circumstances or my mood. I don't want to learn this then.  I want to learn it now.  I want to model it for my children and my friends.  I want to care about what matters most, the things that do not change with the setting sun.  We can waste so much time and energy on the fleeting. If we simply let them "play out," I believe we would find peace in new ways.  

As always, God's word says it best:
Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. (1 Corinthians 13:12) 

Source: "Through the Lens" picture by deranged-mongoose aka Megan at Deviantart

I feel like right now I am in a little bit of smooth sailing - no major "issues" at hand (thank God!), but I have such a strong sense that God is teaching me something, and there is no better time to learn it than when He is instructing!  My heart is inclined to allow Him to give me His perspective and a taste of what His purpose might be.  The lesson I learned several years ago (through this amazing book), is how much gratitude plays a role in our acceptance of what is at hand.  I am still learning to walk this out, putting it into practice and reminding myself in the dull and frustrating moments to find something for which I am thankful. It really does shift my view of my circumstances.  

Lord, let me see things a little more like you do.  Let me see my life, the tasks at hand, the mundane, the epic, and everything in between, through Your eyes.  When I experience the things that crush, consume, overshadow, and darken life - let me hold fast to the light that is in believing you for more than my eyes can see.  Let me love like you do, and remember your faithfulness throughout eternity.  I want to fix my eyes on the unseen and trust you to work out the seen.