This was my lesson this past week – Hanakapi’ai Falls on Kauai. As soon as I arrived, I began taking pictures with my camera and my phone. I tried angle after angle but I none of the equipment and images could do it justice. Finally, I just stopped struggling and just took it in… and in that moment of stillness God’s spirit taught me a lesson.
Sometimes the equipment we have and the frames we bring from our lives in America just don’t capture God’s vision for our lives. We become so carried away with making his beautiful plan fit into a nice 3×5 frame that we find ourselves trimming some of the most beautiful details to make the picture fit.
While many would agree that this is a beautiful picture and waterfall, you will notice that the most important part of this picture is missing – the source. Many of us fail to realize, that without the source, this beautiful canyon would be another moss covered wall. But, add a source of water, and you have a gorgeous scene.
We all are guilty of boxing God into parts of our life. We try to control how everything fits into our picture, but all to often find that the picture is incomplete or we’re overwhelmed. But this is not God’s plan. So here’s a few lesson he taught me – these are a bit nerdy, but stick with me.
1. Lose the lens. The World Race is God’s way of teaching me to see things from His perspective instead of my own. It’s not about fitting God’s vision inside my frame, but loosing the camera and seeing the world the way he designed me to see it.
2. Live in the moment. Sometimes we get so caught up in capturing the moment, that we fail to stop and appreciate that God has given us that moment in the first place. It was only when I put down my camera, hopped in the icy cold water, and swam to the rocks behind the falls, that I saw the beauty of the rest of the valley.
3. If you need to focus on something, focus on the source. When in doubt, turning your focus towards God is never the wrong answer. We often focus on an frightening parts of life’s waterfall, like “where the water hits the ground,” or the interesting part, like the shimmering rocks in the middle. But, everyone knows, your frame of mind and focus should always include the source. Like this!
While these were small lessons, they were a great reminder to me that God has a lot he wants to change about my perspective, mental frameworks, and focus. Over the next 11 months, among orphans, refugees, and sex-traffic victims, I hope to share some of these changes with you.
If you found this enjoyable read and would like to support me, please consider praying for me or donating to my World Race travel expenses. Shirts pictured below are available here in oxford blue and army green. Cheers!
