FOCUS ON THE GOOD

Growing up, I would often hear my mother say things like, “Learn to be content with what you have,” or “Don’t jump ahead to tomorrow; there’s enough trouble to deal with today,” or “Keep your mind on things that are good and right and lovely.” At the time, I didn’t know that these were words from the Bible; they were just what Mama said.

It was only later as an adult, when life’s inevitable troubles brought me low enough to look up and reach for God’s Word myself, that I saw there in print so many of the familiar words. I realized that my mother, without calling chapter and verse, had raised her six children on the Bible, so to speak.

The echo of “Keep your mind on what is good. . . .” has rung particularly strong for me through the years. It is, of course, from today’s verse, Philippians 4:8 – one I keep highlighted and underscored. This is because I so often need reminding to stop dwelling on what is NOT going right, on what is ugly and difficult and – well, not working the way I want. I need a nudge in the direction of God’s view of things.

I confess, as a wife and mother and teacher, I’ve had plenty of opportunities to put this verse into practice. And I am ever amazed that when I deliberately choose to find the “good” and “worthy of praise” that God says is there – whether in a dilemma at home or with a difficult student – then I am changed, and the situation is changed. Perhaps God is best able to bless us and help us out of the unlovely and difficult places when our attention is on Him and what He sees.

Never have I more clearly seen the truth of this principle than in my work with Hope in Northern Virginia, Inc., an assistance center for crisis pregnancies. When I signed on to answer the phone and counsel with women, I thought the focus would be on what Hope and its substantial resources could give to the mother and her child. And, yes, Hope does dispense a great deal of direct help and “stuff ” (layettes, formula, cribs, maternity clothes), and even doctors and lawyers when needed.

I see now, however, that one of the best things Hope gives to its clients is a fresh and positive vision of what is possible. When a woman calls or comes in, she is often overwhelmed with all the problems of the pregnancy, all that is wrong and difficult and impossible, perhaps shameful. There may be no money, no job, no father’s support, no home, no transportation, no food even. How can she let her mind dwell on the lovely and pure and good when her vision is so clouded by the enormity of her problems?

But the miracle – and the truth of Philippians 4:8 – is this: As we listen carefully to each woman, as we get to know her and offer friendship and a safe place to talk and cry and laugh, we begin to see what IS worthy and lovely in her. And as we find these God-given qualities, we can reflect them back to her. It’s wonderful to see the confidence and strength that emerge when a woman’s focus changes from what she doesn’t have and can’t do, to the good and right things that she CAN do – in whatever her situation.

A simple question is inscribed and framed over the desks where we work: “Does your client know her personal strengths?” To me, this has become a gentle but clear reminder of “the excellence and . . . worthy of praise” that God wants us to see and dwell upon in whatever circumstance life brings us.

— Barbara Appling

Courtesy of The Church of the Good Shepherd United Methodist