There are times in life when you think that everything is going great, and then it all gets pulled out from underneath you. I had that happen about four and a half years ago. I was walking along, pursuing a career that I enjoyed and felt like I was focusing on the things that I was suppose to be doing. And then in an instant (or at least it felt like it), it was all gone. I took a brief break from things (a few months) and then I got refocused. It would be very easy to get bitter about what happened; reality is, that brief break showed me what was really important.
Sometimes the dream gets stolen from you. Other times you burn out just trying to make it happen. Still other times a dream feels lost just by circumstances that are surrounding you. Regardless of the cause, it is important to be productive if you need to take a brief break from your focus. It serves nothing to take a brief break and allow yourself to have a long pity party or to engage in destructive behaviors during that brief time.
The first day was hard, I wanted to have a pity party. But, I pressed in to God and allowed Him to heal the hurt. I allowed myself quality time with Him daily. I got lost in Him at times. It is something that I have never taken the time to do on a consistent basis despite the habit of spending time with Him daily.
I took time with my family that I had neglected pursuing my own focus. I realized that in pursuing my goal of helping others, I had left my family to help themselves. While they each gave grace because they know my heart, I realized that the damage was deeper than they wanted me to know. It helped me see that my family, regardless of my focus has to be a priority.
I took time to really explore what my focus was. I realized that although I was doing something I love, my focus was not on bringing glory to God it was on giving glory to a program. God does not share His glory. I also realized that although what I was doing did not look like what I thought it would, I was doing exactly what God called me to do. I had lost focus chasing my own vision of what my purpose should look like.
My brief break taught me more about myself, helped me draw closer to God and my family, and allowed me to refresh the focus of my vision.
This blog is part of a #Write31Days series on Focus with prompts by #FMFParty. Write 31 Days is an online writing challenge, where bloggers pick one topic and write a post on that topic every day. Five Minute Fridays provides prompts and encourages writers to free write for five minutes on the prompt.
Restoring Voice 