Fixation Never Fails

Hard words to read on a Tuesday night…. “ …it appears our beloved Neil has left this world.”  A friend from high school… taken abruptly by a vicious disease following a long, tiring battle.  And my heart broke when I read the words.  It felt just like a punch to the gut.  A heavy sigh combined with an aching heart for a family forced to face the reality of a life without their precious one.  And then I remembered the image sent to me a few days earlier.  The one from a momma who knows this heart well…. always story-hunting in the ordinary.  And I’d even joked that it’s a blessing and a curse all wrapped in one… seeing eyes tuned in to the glory of the average and routine.

And on a foggy day in January I see it.  There in the distance…. one light shining bright.  And even in the dreary mist it’s recognizable.  And for a moment I am fixated on it.  As if nothing else in the image matters.  It’s as if the fog barely exists when my eyes are laser focused on the light.  And I see it in the word: fixation.  By definition, in part, it means this, “preoccupation with one subject.”  Ahh yes… eyes drawn naturally to the one thing that brings hope and joy and provision.  And I look at it all so differently now… He only asks that we stay fixated on the light.  To be not distracted by the unlovely and disgraceful surroundings.  To put out of view the unnecessary burden and inconvenience brought about by painfully tragic circumstances that we simply are not in control of.  Ahh… to be fully fixated, instead, on His glory, His goodness, His faithfulness, His never-ending love.  It’s being preoccupied with one subject… One glorious subject that reigns supreme over all.  And I imagine it’s how Neil lived his life.  Preoccupied with one subject… the only One that matters.  And I envision Him standing before the Light today, with the words of His sweet Savior whispering to him gently, “Well done good and faithful servant.  Well done.”  Because of your refusal to stay anything but fixated on the light, you give hope to those left behind.  Don't depart from the light.  Keep your eyes laser-focused on what truly matters.  Preoccupy yourselves with one subject.  Fixation never fails.