Grit And Glory

I hopped out of my van as I ran some errands a few days ago.  Well, hopped may be a stretch.  More like I stepped out of my van, in all honesty.

I had noticed this beautiful sky and being as I love taking sky pictures, I paused to snap a quick shot. 

I knew, though, that it probably wouldn’t be the best view because of the surroundings. 

“Nah,” I thought as I looked at the picture on my phone.  “It’s too cluttered with ugliness.”

I almost deleted it then and there but decided to look at it later and decide.

As I thought about that picture, and as I looked at it on my computer, the view reminded me of some things.

Those “not-so-pretty” poles and buildings and store sign are a lot like our lives.  I can say “our” because we all know that every person on the planet has a life that gets cluttered with “stuff.”

We wish our view could be like this picture that I took this week as well.

How gorgeous!  How impressive! 

But life isn’t picture perfect for any of us.  Life is full of grit.

Some of the hardships we handle are private.  We don’t want anyone to know about them, either because of pride or because we don’t want to bother others with our “stuff.”

Other areas of life are there for all to see.  We might try to hide our issues, or not talk about them, or hope that they’re not obvious.  But at times the junk is out there and noticeable and we are humiliated.

Whatever is going on in our lives, though, that messes up the beauty doesn’t need to consume our vision.

It is up to me to choose my focus.

And so it is with our lives.  On what am I focusing?

Better yet, on WHOM am I focusing?

            “For my eyes are toward You, O God, the Lord;

            In You I take refuge…”   (Psalm 141:8)

Oh, may we all learn to shift our eyes from our problems, our pain, our hurts, our struggles…and instead focus toward God, our refuge.

God’s character never changes even as our situations do.  His beauty is still there.

Turn from our grit to His glory.

            “My eyes are continually toward the Lord…”   (Psalm 25:15)

Author: Patty hesaidwhatks

I'm Patty and I write about our adult son who has Epilepsy and Autism, who still lives with my husband and me, and who is a package full of many surprises and joys and challenges and TALK! Lots of talking, which creates laughter and some other reactions as well. I also write about how God shows Himself to me in everyday life.

22 thoughts on “Grit And Glory”

  2. Patty, even when the sky gets cluttered with signs, poles, etc., we can still lift up our heads and see the beauty of the sky, in the midst of our mess. He is with us and many times he breaks through, to tell us he walks with us in our mess. The beauty of God is still there despite the clutter. Supernatural favor and love for you today!

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  3. You always have the best sky pictures to share, even with the clutter in the one photo….I’m reminded of the way God can turn a mess into a message.

    Love what you said here: Turn from our grit to His glory.
    …grit is a good thing (refusing to give up when life gets hard) BUT ‘for His glory’ is a better thing as we point to Him!!
    Great post of encouragement, friend!!

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  8. Another insightful post, Patty. I love Philippians 1:6–“He who began a good work in you will carry it o to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” One day, God will complete Photoshopping all the ugly stuff out of my life and I’ll be as pure as a clear sky–Hallelujah!

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  9. Reading this post was a like a balm to my soul, Patty. These last two weeks have been filled with teenage drama brought into my home by an outside source. I don’t do drama (my girls learned not to do drama) so I’m grateful it is a rarity in my home that said I completely let my vision become consumed with ugly light post, signs, clutter etc. I needed your words “Whatever is going on in our lives, though, that messes up the beauty doesn’t need to consume our vision.” I need to step back and find the beauty in the entire experience. Beauty like the light rays shining though the middle of the first picture.

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    1. Oh Beth, those are hard issues for us as parents to handle. I don’t of any parent who hasn’t had some form of drama from the outside that must be dealt with, including me. May God give you great wisdom and peace, my friend.

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