Sometimes we can’t really see our lives because we are up to our armpits in life … stuff.
And then some goon comes along and starts talking about plans, choices, habits, stories, words …
Dude! I’m barely keeping my head above water here!
Have you been there? I have. I’ve been the goon talking and the desperate guy just trying to survive.
I’m hoping that I can convince you that I’m not just a goon talking; I’m a guy with a God-inspired dream.
A couple of times this fall I had overnight stays in New York City. Both times I was in hotels just off Times Square. That is one crazy amazing place, constantly packed with people at all hours of the day and night. My first evening to walk around in Times Square, I kept imagining Frank Sinatra singing, “I want to wake up in the city that doesn’t sleep.”
My point is not to tell you about my travels, but to tell you about perspective. There is a huge difference between walking around in Times Square and looking down on it from the 31st floor.
It’s still Times Square, but it’s a lot easier to get the lay of the land. It’s easier to plan a strategy and see how things are located in relation to each other.
Most of our everyday lives are not Times Square crazy, but they still have their own kind of craziness. And while we may not have a literal room with a view to get above the fray of the ground floor, it is possible to use the power of imagination and contemplation to move up to the balcony and get a new perspective on our lives.
It is possible to use the power of imagination and contemplation to move up to the balcony and get a new perspective on our lives Click To Tweet
On the ground floor, life is about location. Where we live, where we work, where we play. From the balcony, we can contemplate the atmosphere. What’s it like to be in each of those places? What changes would we like to see?
On the ground floor, life is about the vehicle we travel in. By that, I mean our methods—how we do what we do in our daily lives. From the balcony, we can contemplate how we travel. Why do we do what we do? How do we want to show up? How can we BE the change we would like to see?
On the ground floor, life is about our God-provided current reality. Right now—in the middle of all our craziness—we have much for which to be thankful. That’s why we recently had a day called “Thanksgiving.” It’s a day to be thankful for what we have and to recognize that we didn’t get it all by ourselves. From the balcony, we can contemplate our God-inspired dream. We don’t know what the future holds, but we can imagine what it might look like and ask God to help us see His preferred future for us and realize that the same God who can inspire a preferred future can inspire an executable plan.
The same God who can inspire a preferred future can inspire an executable plan Click To Tweet
How we see ourselves and how we see God will determine our motivations for living.
How we see ourselves and how we see God will determine our motivations for living Click To Tweet
Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is upright, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
Our lives matter to God. That’s sometimes hard to see in the middle of the Times Squares of our lives.
What will you do today to make sure that you can climb up to the balcony for a new view?
Be amazing, my friend.
