Setting Your Sights on Christ
I absolutely adore living in our small mountain town. I grew up in well-populated suburban areas and went to college in the heart of Houston, TX so I wasn’t sure how I would adjust to living in such a quiet area when I first moved to the Vail Valley 11 years ago. But my introverted heart easily found peace in these slower-paced Colorado towns.
One thing I certainly don’t miss about big city life is the traffic. Sure we have road closures because of snow storms and mudslides, but bumper-to-bumper traffic every day just because? Nope!
Which is why I found myself so instantly frustrated when my children and I were driving up to visit a friend and the person driving in front of me all but stopped in the middle of the road and began crawling at 5mph. The anger that I tend to forget lives in my heart quickly sprung to the surface as I was trying to figure out what in the world this person was doing. Should I drive around them? Do I wait? Why 5mph? Why God, why??
I continued on this silent tirade until the voice of my daughter snagged my attention when she said “Oh Mom, LOOK!”
I turned to my right and was shocked by what I saw.
There is a local herd of elk that moves around our town throughout the winter. They are absolutely beautiful to watch. I’ve seen them all over town but I’ve never had one 5 feet away from my car window. Until that moment at least. Countless eyes stared back at mine as they grazed on the side of the road, completely unbothered by my presence.
The car in front of me hadn’t suddenly forgotten how to drive. They were stopped by the beauty of where we live. And I had almost missed it because I couldn’t get past the problem right in front of me.
Does that sound familiar? This is a daily, sometimes hourly problem for me. In this season of life, I am constantly presented with problems - getting the kids up and dressed, feeding them 40 meals a day, attending to scraped knees and bonked heads, teaching my kids that hitting each other isn’t the best way to solve problems, etc. It is go, go, go from the moment our children are up for the day. And it is so easy for me to only see the problems in front of me.
But when my sights are set solely on the issues at hand, I miss the beauty of this season that is literally staring me in the face. I don’t watch in awe as my daughter sings and twirls around our living room because I’m trying to restore our poor couch back to some semblance of order. I don’t pause in wonder as my son comes to tell me he loves me because he also wants me to hold him (again) and I’m trying to get work done. I miss the new expressions my kids have picked up, the sweet conversations they have with each other, and the absolute ridiculousness of their potty humor, because I’m still reeling over the last meltdown we worked through or am trying to cook dinner, or…honestly, just fill in the blank.
My sights are so easily distracted from the joys of this season by what’s so hard about this season. I can’t ignore the hard parts - the work has to get done, the house needs to be taken care of, the snacks need to be prepared, and the fights need to be broken up. But when those things become my sole focus, my heart sits in frustration, anger, weariness, and despair.
It’s when I set my mind on Christ that the true beauty of this season shines through.
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Colossians 3:1-4
Regardless of our season of life, it is so easy to be distracted by the hardships of this world. Some days it seems like every single second is glaring proof of the Fall. But as believers, we are called to set our sights on our Savior. We are called to look to him despite the circumstances around us. We have been given a hope that is secure, a peace that goes beyond understanding, and a joy that never fails. The problems of this world need to be dealt with but they do not get to have the monopoly of our attention anymore.
Don’t miss the countless moments to pause and worship your Savior. Don’t let frustrations steal the joy Christ has given you. Set your sights on him. Seek him above all else. The beautiful reality of the gospel is all around us if we only remember to look.
