Don't let a setback hold your back...

 ...because a setback is not a holdback.

So I mentioned vaguely in my Saturday night post that I had something done in the morning only to have it undone just minutes later. It was something I had waited so long to do and I was finally happy to see it accomplished. And I paid a pretty penny to the workers who did it on the side for me. This is a part of what I wrote on Saturday:

This morning, I got caught in a one thing scenario. I had looked at all that had happened and I was happy with it and moments later, I decided to pursue this one thing I didn't need and could've let it be. My friend said:  to look on the bright side, "you'll learn a new skill". 

(You can read the full post here).

I was striving for perfection and in trying to do so, I dissembled the whole thing. Well, I had reached out to someone and asked what his company would charge to have someone come help. And they were here this morning and it was done so quickly that by 0830, it was fixed. This time, without the imperfection. And it was done as a courtesy without charge. 

                                    

In the past, I had been different. I would've broken down and lamented over the situation.  And I was circling the doors of "lamentation" on Saturday even though I hadn't done it for so long. I think it was the disappointment of getting something I had wanted done for so long done and undone in a matter of minutes.  I feel God worked through my friend to remind me to focus on what matters. And I ended up doing so much more Saturday. Now, it's done and even better than what I had on Saturday when it was first completed. And, I learned a new skill. To be honest: when my friend said "you'll learn a new skill" in that conversation, I couldn't see what I could possibly learn from this. But now, I know how to do this. And by not focusing on it, I forgot about it yesterday and was focused on other things, including enjoying the lovely meal I had for dinner. In the course of thanking God this morning, I learned something and it came to mind that a setback is not a holdback. 

 

How many times have one suffered a setback only to have it end the journey because of the disappointment and frustration that comes with setbacks? How often do we question the journey because of  a setback. Am I supposed to do this? Is this it? Am I on the right path? All because a setback - however major or minor. And sometimes we forget everything else had gone right along the path except for this and now, we are questioning the whole journey based on this one piece in a cogwheel that seems stuck or difficult to move.  I've done that in the past but over time as I've grown in Christ, it has changed. And it can be as simple as what we choose to focus on. I read In the Name of Common Sense  by Matthew Chappell a few years ago and it talks about focus and refocusing. But one of the premises there is to replace a worry thought with something else. In his case, anything but something pleasant. Choose for focus on something else. 

Because learning involves repetition and the more we focus on what is not right, the more we get better at focusing on what is not right. Likewise, the more we get better at focusing one what is right, the more we get better at focusing on what is right.

By doing it less and less, we get better at focusing on what is healthy instead of wasting precious lamenting and stopping the entire process or giving up out of frustration from a difficult part or step in the process. As I mentioned in the past, we have the power of choice. Let us focus on focusing on what we can do about a situation to make it right/better instead of focusing on the fact that it is not right/better. We have the power to choose and that what we choose to think about or focus on.