I keep coming back to this again and again and again. To have a good life, I have to keep my eyes uncovered and in the light.

This right here is not so much about letting my light so shine before all men, or this little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine. This is about keeping my focus on Christ and keeping my eyes in the light.

My eyes were first uncovered and brought out of darkness when I accepted Jesus Christ as God and savior, who forgives and saves me, and as Lord, who governs my life. I once was Godless – without God and in darkness of sin. But then Christ reconciled me to God through his death on the cross and my faith in him. Being without God is equivalent to being in darkness, blind, and covered up.

Being with God is equivalent to being in the light, with eyes opened and uncovered. Thus, first of all, to have good eyes and to have a lamp shining light in my body, I have to submit my life to Jesus Christ.

Next, to keep myself in the light, I have to keep my eyes on Christ. I have to keep my eyes, imagination, focus, attention, meditations, on Jesus Christ as he is presented in the Gospels. And, I have to keep on focusing on the good, holy life that God has put right before me.

…whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Philippians 4:8

To have a good lamp (a good mind, that subsequently affects my body) I have to focus on the holy and good things in life – in my one pure, holy life that God has given me.

I have to focus on who God created me to be – a tall woman, with size 11 ski feet, with athletic, mechanical, and intellectual tendencies, and a disdain for cooking or spending way too much time on physical appearances. And etc. etc… etc, etc, etc.

I have to focus on the good in the people around me – which I don’t do enough of. But I have to do it, and God help me to do it. Amen. And amen and amen, and next time this list will be populated with all of my little nuanced noticings of how wonderful the people around me are.

I have to focus on the little moments and details of my moments and days. I have to focus on the healthy habits and advice. I have to focus on and thank God for all the things… that I don’t really want to go into detail right here and right now because this is a devotional and is not supposed to be a long drawn out post. Full stop.