Screens

Mary’s Monday Musings to Quilt Encouragement
Screens

I tried to take a picture of the magnolia tree in full bloom outside our bedroom window. It was absolutely gorgeous, but the window screen prevented the camera from focusing on the blossoms. Instead, the lens focused on the wire grid. Since I was on the third floor of my building, I was reluctant to try to remove the screen for a picture. What if I dropped it? Disappointed in my attempt to record the beautiful sight, I tried taking a picture from the ground, but the blossoms began so far up the tall tree, the effect wasn’t the same as from my window. I had to settle for enjoying the sight first hand every day and storing the loveliness in my memory.

What in our lives do we view from behind a screen which distorts the picture almost to the point of obliterating the beauty before our eyes? The screen of lies people told us in our young, formative years can interfere with our insight. The screen of our perception may be distorted when it only focuses on the obstacles up close like my camera did. Or the screen of limitations we see causes us to fear falling or failing if we attempt to achieve our goal.

Unlike my camera, we can refuse to allow these screens to interfere with our self-perception. Ask God to replace the memory of negative and hurtful things anyone scarred you with when you were young. Ask and He will substitute the picture He had of you as you were that age and as he sees you now. He views you through the film of love. To Him, you are precious, in spite of the flaws we all have in some form or another. Ask God to substitute His loving picture for the hurtful image limiting you. Ask God for the courage to push through the fears of falling or failing that limit our ability to enter into the possibilities God would open for us. The screens that hinder our lives are as nothing in face of His love and care for us. Store that picture in your memory and bring it into your mental scrapbook when self-doubt intrudes.