Keeping God at the Center

TODAY: Here’s one way of examining the focus of your life. Look back over the past 24 hours. What three things did you invest the most time and energy in? How does that list compare with the three things you should be concentrating on? Now try to imagine where you’ll be one year from now. What three things will you be devoting your time and energy to, and what do you have to do to bring them closer to the three things you should be focusing on? Start the adjustment now.

Last summer I rode the ski lift in Aspen, Colo., with my son, Jake. The beauty and majesty of the Rocky Mountains rising up all around the small town of Aspen took my breath away. I was both awed and comforted by their presence, reminded of the strength and power of the One who created them.

Heights have always made me a little nervous. As the gondola climbed over one mountain range and then another, the town below appeared to get smaller and smaller. We were swinging in this small cage 20 or 30 feet above the ground, which continued to slip away under us. Jake thought it was great fun to rock back and forth, making the gondola sway even more.

In my anxiety, I grabbed the pole in the middle of the gondola and gripped it for dear life. I could picture the cable snapping and the gondola falling end over end all the way down the mountain. Then suddenly I realized how useless it was to continue to hold onto the pole. If the cable did break, and we were bouncing around inside the gondola, that pole would do no good since it was just another part of the gondola itself. Calming myself, forcing myself to take a few deep breaths, I said a brief, silent prayer for courage, for the understanding that the future is not in my hands, but in the hands of God.

I also realized how often in life we cling to things that provide a false sense of security, just like my hanging onto that pole. Many of us believe that if we have enough money in the bank, we will be able to find peace; if we get the right exercise or eat the right foods, we will be guaranteed good health; or if we buy those new clothes or that bigger house, then we will be happy. Putting our trust in these temporal sources will not bring us joy or peace of mind, any more than that pole would have kept me safe in a fall. Keeping God as the center of our lives, practicing our faith in God’s loving care, will.

— Susan Shearouse