I don’t know how many times it’s happened. Maybe 3, maybe 4 or even 5. Once I was on the phone with a friend and it happened. BAM! I walked right into the sliding glass door. The phone flew out of my hand! The entire house shook, I hit that hard! Another time I had been on the pool deck reading and I got up to do something and it happened again. BAM! Walked right into that door. My son came running, asking what in the world happened to me! I have hit that door so hard with my head the bruises on my forehead looked like I had been hit with a bat! Another time I was just bringing the dogs in from a walk. BAM! There I go again.
So I had been thinking about prevention. I need to put peel-able little designs on the glass door so I will remember that there is an obstacle between me and my destination! But then my SIL asked me a question I hadn’t thought of and it’s been on my mind since. She said, “Were you looking where you were going or were you looking down at your feet?” The answer, it seems, is that I was looking down at my feet. So how often do I do that? Obviously, often enough to hurt myself!
In counseling, many times we use the illustration of driving in a car toward a destination. Looking in a rear view mirror is important to see where you’ve been, and to evaluate potential dangers before changing lanes or making a turn. But if we stare at the rear view mirror we are in danger of having a major crash! When we are driving to a destination, we are supposed to be looking ahead, not behind!
As I have received counseling, help, and education for the issues of my past throughout my adult life, I have learned a lot. But if I spend all my time looking at the issues of my past, I will forget how to live in the present. The past is the foundation for the present. Evaluating and rebuilding your foundation is important. But don’t spend so much time rebuilding the foundation that you never have time to design and build the building to sit on that foundation!
Some people call them “belly button gazers.” The ones who are perpetually in a state of self-examination. They are always finding something wrong with themselves and always seeking to change something negative about their personality or surroundings. This is important, but on a perpetual basis? No. Fruits and vegetables are healthy, but isn’t it fun to have a brownie upon occasion? Whole grain breads are filled with nutrients, but isn’t it enjoyable to sweeten it up every once in awhile? Living life in a perpetual state of self-examination, not only is wasting away the life that God gave you, but it’s boring to everyone else around you.
You were not put here on this earth to benefit only yourself and to better yourself before God. Remember in the Garden of Eden- God had a relationship with Adam. But God said, “It’s not good for man to be alone!” Wait! He wasn’t alone, it was Adam and God. Wasn’t that enough? Apparently not! Hence… Eve. We were all created to influence and bless others. We do that through relationships. And relationships should be well-rounded. And sometimes it’s just about being you, having fun, enjoying life, keeping your head up and not always looking down. Sometimes life is about looking where you are going.
So stop looking in the rear view mirror, my friend, just for today. And enjoy the journey. You may find that you avoid that dang obstacle just by looking up!
