Focus Friday: Let's Focus on Looking (Part 2)

I want to continue the theme we began last week and share a few more thoughts about looking. You see, I blew it again and neglected to really look at something.

We bought a new GPS recently. I took it out of the box and tried to hook it up to the computer to make sure it had the most current maps. I ran into a little problem. I couldn't plug it in.

I looked and looked at my cord and the GPS and couldn't figure out how to plug that cord in. I even called TomTom and explained my predicament. Granted, we had a bit of a language barrier, but he seemed puzzled by my inability to plug in the new cord. I earnestly explained that the slot on my GPS was about a half inch wide but the cord end was only about a quarter inch wide and I didn't see how it could plug in. He asked some good questions and then basically told me to take it to a Walmart or BestBuy and ask someone to show me how to plug it in. I was slightly offended and hung up feeling frustrated. I know how to plug things in. I'm not dumb. I even tried forcing the plug into the little slot, but it didn't work. I left the GPS by the computer and moved on to other activities.

A couple of days later I had to do something with our old GPS. I picked it up and saw immediately what I had done wrong with our new GPS.

The cord had to turn sideways and plug into the slot made especially for it. The slot I somehow neglected to see when I was looking all over my GPS for a place to plug into. Sigh. How could I have missed it? It was right there in front of me, but I didn't see it until I saw an example I could follow.

This situation made me think of lots of times when we don't see something. Sometimes we aren't looking (like last week's pedometer), but sometimes we're looking as hard as we can but we still miss something.

Maybe we want to have a better marriage or a healthier relationship with our children or a stronger spiritual life, but it seems like we can't figure out where to "plug in." We have certain ideas but they don't seem to fit when we look at our situation. We might even try to force the connection, but it doesn't work.

We need an example. When we see what a good marriage looks like, or a healthy parent/child relationship, or a strong faith walk, we just might be able to turn our thoughts and actions around so that we can get plugged in and improve in those areas.

Of course, Jesus is our finest example. He shows us the way to live and love and thrive. Look to Him first. Talking to Him and reading the Bible will give you so much guidance in every relationship you have here on this earth. When you know that your relationship with Him is solid, then you can look around for other examples and follow them. 

Ask questions when you see someone who has a good marriage, a healthy relationship with their children, or a strong faith in God. They'll help you plug in and grow in so many ways.

"Anyone who claims to be intimate with God ought to live the same kind of life Jesus lived." (1 John 2:6 The Message)

Are you frustrated because you can't figure out where to "plug in" and improve some of life's problems? How can focusing on God help you to follow Jesus' example and find godly people to learn from here on earth?