OnFire
Encouragement Letter
Hi Folks:
We had a great time at my induction service last Sunday. A wonderful turnout and great atmosphere. Tonight we visited Ian’s school and met the parents of one of his friends. Jan is taking a little rest from painting before going on to the downstairs and upstairs halls. She was truly surprised last week to learn why I always appeared so stunned while talking about paint. She thought I couldn’t be bothered, so my letter last week really helped.
I just don’t get colour. Sunday I picked out a shirt and pair of pants for Ian to wear. Understand - this was part of the negotiation of what kind of good clothes the boys should wear to a special occasion. Jan made a few adjustments, switching one shirt for another because the brown polo shirt I picked out didn’t go with his pants. I still don’t get it, but I know it is one of my quirks.
I hope your week is going well. I’ve been trying to tie up a few projects. Business cards. Shelves for my office. These things are finally coming together. When too many things aren’t coming together, I start to get frustrated, so this week I’m glad to make some progress.
Blessings,
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A friend gave Ian a giant magnifying lense. This is not a Sherlock Holmes kind of magnifying glass on a handle. This is a one foot square flat lense from an overhead projector. To be technical, it is a Fresnel lense. Ian loves it, but not for the size of the magnification. The fascination with magnifying things lasted about 30 seconds.
Ian loves it because it starts fire quickly. Very quickly. Remember as children burning black dots on leaves by focussing the sun’s energy against the ground? Ian’s lense takes this to a whole different level. On a sunny day, Ian can start a fire the size of a quarter on a board in about three seconds. Poof! It is almost that fast.
Ian has had some time to practice, but at first it was very frustrating. He couldn’t get the spot focussed enough to heat up. It was plenty bright, but not hot. He had to learn to adjust the lense to make it perpendicular to the sun’s rays. Only then could the energy be concentrated enough to heat the wood to its burning point.
Focus is on my mind these days because I find myself needing focus more this fall than any other. This church is larger than my last, and so there are more opportunities to serve than ever before. It is true that we can offer more in this larger church, but because it is larger, we also have more gaps to fill. I know I could fill some of those holes. Needs cry out everywhere, and they all say, “Help me!”
And the needs don’t stop calling just because I leave the church to go home. At the school tonight the parent’s committee was recruiting members. One meeting a month, that’s all. And think of the chance to meet people in the community, I thought. Someone even leaned over and asked me if I had ever served on such a group, implying I might be an effective committee member. I did not raise my hand.
A few years ago I realized I was doing too much and something had to change. It was tough, but I had to give up two responsibilities. People were disappointed. Some things didn’t continue. But I was at the point I wasn’t effective in other key areas.
This fall I look at my key responsibilities and I realize that I must be extremely careful in what I become involved. That saying no may be as important as saying yes. That if I am going to have time to do what is really important, I must choose very carefully.
I wish it wasn’t this way. Some of the things could be a lot of fun. Some of them could make me look very good in the eyes of others. But at some point, when I am doing too much, I lose sight of what is really important. I lose my focus.
The writer of Hebrews tells us to “fix our eyes on Jesus.” (Hebrews 12:2) He didn’t have a lense but he drew from the world of running to articulate the principal of focus. We need to be single minded on our devotion. His concern was that sin and discouragement may distract us and keep us from our reward. Interestingly, I have found that I also become distracted from Jesus when I try to do too much, and then I am more open to sin.
Fall is a good time to take stock and reevaluate. What is important? To what has God called me? Can I do everything well? What is vital to keep up, and what is not? What are the things I need to do? Where does my focus and attention need to be?
These are the questions I am asking myself. I bring them to you because I figure that if it is an issue for me, then maybe it is an issue for someone else, and so I hope this discussion helps to bring focus and clarity.
At the end, I don’t really just want to make bright light, I’d like to make some heat, and for that it takes focus.
I hope this helps,
OnFire is a weekly letter on faith and character written by Troy Dennis. This letter published Sept 24, 2008. To subscribe or reply, email him at onfireletter@gmail.com. Archives are located at www.onfireletter.com