Day 34 - LIFE 3: I focus on this one thing

I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

Philippians 3:12-14

F is for focusing.

Listening, inviting, and now our third letter is F for focusing.

I suspect like me there have been occasions in life when you urgently needed to re-focus on what God has made available in your life. I would like to recall a short series of personal experiences. Please read them and then make a list of your own and set aside time to ask God what comes next. He has a focus for you and yours!

1936: I was born into the world.

1946: I became an orphan.

1947: I moved to become part of our family in the Bristol area. My older sister and brother-in-law ‘adopted’ me. This involved me joining the local Grammar School and receiving great help from some truly committed teachers. Around that time, a Christian doctor and his wife returned from the Sudan to live in a large house not far from the school. So, remarkably, I had two ‘family’ groups.

These lists bring memories of struggles and successes, hopes and dreams. Life is not lived in the past, but in the moment - with one eye focussed on the future.

Listening, inviting and focusing were an integral part of my life.

Prayer:

Lord, thank you for your forgiveness, grace and love, the gifts from you and qualities you provide that are an important part of our lives.

Amen.

Ray Avent