Focus Friday: Looking Through a Magnifying Glass

It can be fun to look at things through a magnifying glass. Seeing things differently than they normally are can amaze us, or amuse us, or even frighten us. Have you ever used a magnifying glass?

I can remember my Grandma Start using a magnifying glass when we would go visit her on Sunday afternoons in Muskegon, Michigan. She kept one handy near her chair and she would grab it when she wanted to read us a portion of a letter from one of my aunts or when she wanted to share something she had found interesting in the newspaper. Her old eyes had trouble making out tiny letters, so she turned to the magnifying glass for help. I don't use a magnifying glass, but I sure can relate to her as I wear my glasses when I need to read.

Seeing things magnified can amaze us as we become aware of the details we couldn't see with the naked eye.

Cells, snowflakes, grains of sand - all of them contain so much more than we can usually see.

Seeing a snowflake reminds us of God's attention to detail

Seeing things magnified can also amuse us. A distorted view of something can look really funny.

My, what a big eye you have!

                          

                                   This guy's a big mouth, for sure!

Seeing things magnified can also frighten us if we don't know what we're looking at. A tiny gnat can look like a monster when it is blown up to look like this:

A super magnified Fungas Gnat - how creepy!

In our spiritual and emotional lives, it often works in the same way.

When we magnify God - we are amazed. Amazed at His power, His love, and His grace. This is a good thing. We need to keep our magnifying glass aimed in God's direction and discover Him in new ways every day.

When we magnify situations in our lives - we are sometimes amused. I've enjoyed many stories from speakers and authors who exaggerate a life situation and make it a hilarious and meaningful example for the rest of us.

When we magnify certain situations in our lives - we can become very frightened. If we focus on an unkind word from someone, we can often blow it way out of proportion until it's hundreds of times bigger than the original offense. I think certain personalities struggle with this more than others. Some people can let things go right away, while others focus on something and keep replaying it over and over until they can hardly function. Friends, it's time to remove the magnifying glass and see things as they really are. Usually the situation isn't as bad as we made it in the end.

In the future, let's be more aware of what we are focusing on. It's okay to use a figurative magnifying glass if it's helping us learn more about God or learn more about ourselves. However, it's time to put it away if it's causing us to get stuck in negative emotions about ourselves or others in our lives. 

What do you usually focus on? Does it help you to grow or does it cause you to just get paralyzed by fear?