”ITS A FOCUS ISSUE!” My Linn-Mar choir directors, Bob Anderson and Trent Buglewicz, used to say this phrase when their students were failing in class. Rather than blaming the failure on incapabilities, the blame was placed on our lack of focus. When I was in school I didn’t truly understand this concept. Maybe we were just bad at singing or maybe we weren’t capable of greatness. However; the last two months of my life have shown me that focus is an essential part of achieving greatness in any aspect of life.
The attention you place on anything gives it power over part of your life. If your focus is set back in the past, the past consumes you. If your focus is on the future, you miss what’s happening right now. My struggle in South Africa was exactly that. I spent so much time dwelling on past sins and looking forward to college. The reason I did this was because I didn’t want to focus on ministry. Ministry was the opposite of what I wanted. So instead of focusing on how I could be joyful in difficult situations, I let myself daydream about what my future could hold. This made me miss out on so much joy that the Lord had for me. I could’ve spent my time focusing on the beauty God created, the people I got to love and the lives God was changing around me. Instead I chose to focus on things that I couldn’t control at all. In all reality, my months in South Africa could’ve been better used, but they weren’t due to my focus issue.
All that being said, I have to choose each day to stay present and focus on the task at hand. I constantly want to show people the love of Christ and focus on what is right in front of me. In Thailand, I have done an okay job so far. I will not say every moment has been spent solely focused on the here and now, but the Lord is teaching me how to take each day one day at a time. I have lots to learn and so much room to grow, but I will no longer waste time focusing on the things that cannot be changed.
If you’re reading this, thank you. I know I haven’t posted a blog in a hot minute, but I appreciate you for taking the time to be invested in a small portion of my life.
All the love,
McKenna Flood
