Clear Vision: How will you remember the spring of 2020?

In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success. Don’t be conceited, sure of your own wisdom. Instead, trust and reverence the Lord, and turn your back on evil; when you do that, then you will be given renewed health and vitality.

—Proverbs 3:6-8 TLB

Yesterday I heard a radio show host ask, “How will you remember the spring of 2020?”

As I listened to his co-host respond, I thought how I would formulate my own answer. I was struck by the host’s phrasing, how he used the term “spring of 2020,” rather than the “coronavirus pandemic.” I thought about the way many of us use 20/20 to mean clear vision. I wondered how clearly we view the events happening around us. Do we focus on the negative aspects? Or can we see the good things that have come from this pandemic?

As for me, I choose to focus on the good. Don’t get me wrong. I have had some bad days, shed a lot of tears. But I know the difference it can make when I shift my focus to the positive. This is what I want to remember most, and maybe God wants this as well. So if you will oblige me, let me count the good in this season. Perhaps, if you have been down, it will change your outlook too.

                                      

Falling Axheads: What do you do when your tool falls into the water?

So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

—Matthew 6:31-33

This morning during my quiet time with God I read two devotions back to back, both of them including a story about an axhead falling into water. That got my attention. Then I remembered that yesterday I recovered the misplaced rusty head of an iron tool that I usually display on my deck. That really made me ponder.

Beyond the Door

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

—Matthew 7:7-8

I cried when my closest colleague told me she was retiring. They should have been tears of joy for her, but honestly they were tears of sorrow for myself. Roz and I had worked together for 10 years, both of us high school CTE (Career and Technology Education) teachers. At least seven of those years, we occupied adjoining classrooms. I don’t know why the rooms were designed with a shared door, nor do I know of any similar setups in the building, but I do know it was designed just right for us. Being next to each other in our secluded wing of the building gave us the opportunity to get to know each other on a deeper level. Early communication revealed that we shared the Christian faith. Soon we were praying together in the mornings before school began. While at first we prayed for our school, our students, and the day before us, in time our petitions evolved to personal matters. Roz and I learned we had so much more in common than our faith. We were both career changers, each of us having worked in the world of business before becoming teachers. Each of us had also dabbled in the dramatic arts in our younger days. We were both faithful churchgoers and at the time we were both church treasurers, collaborating even on church accounting software. We had granddaughters born within weeks of each other. Later our daughters gave birth to preemies, each early delivery a result of the same condition. Together, we rejoiced; together we cried. I shared private concerns with Roz that I have shared with no other, except the Lord. I knew I could trust Roz to keep everything in confidence. I also knew I could rely on her to give wise advice. No matter the situation, Roz would come through for me, whether an idea for an assignment, a prayer, advice, or her comforting presence. All I had to do was knock. Help was just beyond the door.