Category Archives: Inspiration

2020 Vision

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I have a friend who has a whole collection of those little drug store reader glasses. He needs them to read, but keeps leaving pairs behind when they were of no use to him. Then, he ends up purchasing a new pair because he can’t remember where the old pair are! I’m nearsighted, so wear my glasses to see distances and drive. I’ve hit that age, however, when I need to take off my glasses to read small print, or thread a needle. I’m afraid I might eventually have a collection of drug store readers of my own one day! The Mitton crew are prone to vision issues (apparently!) and 5 out of 6 of us have glasses.

Why do I mention our vision delinquencies? It’s what I’ve been musing about since “2020” is approaching soon… “2020”… of the Gregorian calendar, the 2020th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 20th year of the 3rd millennium, the 20th year of the 21st century, and the 1st year of the 2020s decade. Apparently, it will also be a leap year. All special, if you are into that kinda thing. Fireworks, champagne toasts and midnight kisses for you all! But when I hear 2020, I tend to think of vision. It’s actually “normal” vision according to the optometrists…not exactly “perfect”, but the most accurate when it comes to reading that little eye chart at the office.

Vision can mean more than just eyesight though. Think visions and dreams. Something you imagine. It could be literal or figurative. Vision as in great plans for the future. New Year resolutions? Goals? How interesting that it all comes together under this concept of what we call “vision”. A new year, a new decade even… and the internet will be all a buzz on the top 10’s of the past — with great predictions for the future. What will happen in this new year? How will our lives change? How will we change the lives of others?

Now, I am a big believer in goal setting. I’m not very good at always achieving the goals… but I love to have a plan. I love a good list and work best when checking off the steps. Unfortunately, life does not always work in perfect little check marked boxes. Our lives are influenced by others, by our circumstances, and all the tiny nuances that ebb and flow in our life journeys. Our visions are hampered by our own guilt, shame and sin. We do not have perfect vision. We cannot see, nor predict, what lies ahead. We are like my friend, and leave behind our readers when we don’t need them. Or maybe like me, who must purposefully put aside our glasses when we feel the need to focus on the tiny things in life, when we should be casting our eyes to a wider view of the world.

So, my dear reader, what will your vision be for this 2020 year? Will the Lord be your vision? Like the words of the ancient, Irish Hymn… “Be thou my Vision, oh Lord of my heart…” Will you seek His will and trust in His plans for your life? Will you be devoted to learning all you can to make Heaven’s joys your personal goals? Will you be seeking riches and empty praises of people, or will you dwell in the beauty of Heaven’s sun? Keeping your vision clear and unclouded by the world around us?

It won’t be as easy as reading all the letters on the eye chart. We will forget our specs and abandon them when we think we don’t need the help. We will take our eyes off the goals and focus on our own insecurities and narrow minded points of convergence. Some of us will grow weary of sight and need extra help. Perhaps bifocals, transitions or permanent laser surgery will be metaphors for our pruning and molding this next year. All necessary to improve our vision. But my wish for you in this new year, this new decade, this year with an extra day… is that you will be seeing 2020, and that whate’er befall… He will still be your vision, O Ruler of all…

Never heard of this ancient hymn mentioned above? Check out my facebook page… I’ll post the lyrics there! Like what you read? Join the adventure! I’d love to have you along as a subscriber and join me each week in 2020! (Click on the little follow button on the sidebar and enter your email address!)

What is Peace?

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Peace. Joy. Love. Twinkle stars and green grinch hearts that grow. ‘Tis the season of spreading good wishes and warm fuzzies. But let’s get real for a second. Crowded parking lots, tired bodies, loneliness and pain often marr our Hallmark movie visions of what this season is supposed to look like. Tensions ride high and our often idealistic gatherings end in hurt feelings and anger. We are human — it happens.

Last week, I discovered that December 12th has been set aside by the United Nations as “International Day of Neutrality”. Which got me thinking about this whole idea of peace. Is it easier to just be “neutral” in order to keep the peace? To let things go? To simply sweep tensions under the rug rather than cause a scene? Maybe you’ve faced this delima at your last holiday gathering? A co-worker with whom you’ve had a disagreement? Or in-laws that have become out-laws? The holidays seem to bring out the best — and the worst — in some people. Let’s think about it a little more…

According to the Oxford dictionary, “neutrality” means:

Artwork symbolizing ‘peace in the world’ © United Nations
  1. the state of not supporting or helping either side in a conflict, disagreement, etc.; “impartiality.”
  2. absence of decided views, expression, or strong feeling.”the clinical neutrality of the description”
  3. the condition of being chemically or electrically neutral.

The UN extended this definition even further to: “the abstention of a state from all participation in a war between other states” while still maintaining “an attitude of impartiality toward the belligerents”. Try that at your next party. Belligerents indeed.

All of this sounds wonderful. No one wants war. World peace is a noble goal. But wait. Doesn’t the Bible talk about a time for peace and a time for war? It’s confusing isn’t it? And as much as I appreciate activists waging war on political leaders, and as much as I don’t want bomb threats and lock downs becoming realities at my children’s schools, I must narrow down this idea in my own little world. How do I, as a Jesus follower, take a stand for what is Biblically correct, and still be respected in my community?

I found some insightful views via Kaitlin Garrison and her post on The Barefoot Blog. She has outlined it much better than I can, so I encourage you to read it there. She explains that there is a significant difference between being peacekeepers and peacemakers. Peacekeepers would make the UN proud by avoiding all conflict and simply staying neutral. No opinions must be voiced, no thoughts shared. Peacemakers, on the other hand, are lovingly honest. They lay Biblical truths on the table and discuss the conflict at hand with hopes of resolution and true peace. Jesus was not one to back down from a fight. Yet, His birth is surrounded with this idea of peace. There’s gotta be some correlation.

I’m afraid I may not be making my views crystal clear on this one… and maybe it’s because I am struggling with the practicalities of this myself. I tend to avoid the conflict by keeping my mouth shut. Introverts peacekeep well this way. But maybe it’s time to open up a bit. To peace make instead of peace keep. Perhaps this season, we can be bold together… to be more honest with ourselves and others. To make our feelings known, yet still love our neighbours. It is no easy task. But I’ve got your back. And I wish you a season of true peace this Christmas!

Toothpaste Caps are Useful Tools

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So I need to vent a little bit. Please bear with me. A woman in (midlife) crisis is allowed to blow off a little steam once and awhile! Can anyone please, please tell me why on earth my smart and darling children cannot figure out how to put the cap back on the toothpaste tube?! I am forever finding toothbrushes back in their container, towels on the rack, but always the toothpaste cap sitting next to the tube. Really?! And before you flood the comments saying that I can get those tubes with caps attached… yeah, tried that…cap attached but left open!

It always seems to be those little things that keep coming back to bug me. The toothpaste cap, the shower curtain left open, the lights forever on in completely empty rooms, the cupboard doors left open, the pile of shoes at the front door, the … well, you get my point. We always seem to have some little quirk, some little thing that just drives us crazy. And it is usually something that someone else does. Our quirks. No. Not me. Why do we notice them? Why do those seemingly innocent things urk us to the point we are tempted to declare toothpaste cap war in the bathroom? I mean, does it really matter if the cap is on or off?! (Besides the fact that the caps get lost and then the minty gel is dry and sticky and exposed to who knows what sitting on the bathroom sink…)

Come on, I know I am not alone in this quandering. What’s that thing that drives you batty? The way your beloved folds socks? The way your toddler insists on hiding snacks on the shelf for later? That annoying pen flick ? Or maybe it’s someone at work… or worse, a friend at church? And, no, it’s not going to ruin your lifelong friendship, or cause holy war… but it is just that constant dripping faucet that eventually leads to a complete flood.

Recently, our Bible study group was learning about just such little things. The Devil is devious and uses a variety of ways to deceive us… both big and small. In Canada, Satan uses tiny nuggets of temptation to move us ever so slightly off the path of our journeys with Christ. It’s such a subtle thing. We waiver, or compromise, just a bit, and then a bit more, and soon we are heading in an entirely different direction then we intended. I’m sure you’ve heard countless stories of people who got caught in a “little white lie” that soon snowballed into a deep pit of deception. We don’t intend to blatantly disobey… it “just happens”.

I am sure you would agree with me that those other-people-quirks-that-drive-you-crazy habits are ones that are simply not priorities — to them. Toothpaste caps are obviously not forefront in my children’s minds. Which is why we have practices and disciplines that help us stay on the path. Soldiers and first responders practice drills over and over again, so that when a crisis does come, they simply react automatically. Tiny muscle memory procedures that prevent bigger issues later on.

I guess we all have to learn to be a bit more aware. We all need to focus and question and examine our day to day. Is there something I do that is causing grief? Is there something that is a subtle step sideways that just might lead me down the wrong path? Do we need to establish more practice and disciplines that will help eliminate the subtle deviations? Maybe I should just be thankful that the kids brush their teeth… and put up a big sign on the bathroom door: DON’T FORGET THE CAP!