The Importance of Having a Focal Point

About seven months after my lovely wife Ellen and I were married, we also found out that "we" were pregnant. Actually, it was only Ellen that was truly pregnant (I did my part, and then the rest was up to her). But, back then (in the last half of 1981), it was a "we" proposition to have a baby. Husbands/fathers were finally allowed into the hospital birthing rooms after several decades of being totally restricted to the waiting rooms - all while the women they loved more than anything in all the world went through a pretty demanding and oftentimes painful physical experience (to say the least!). I can't imagine what that must have been like to be a guy in the 30's, 40's and 50's who just had to sit there and wait for the doctor to come out and tell them that he was a father. How dumb was that?

No, in 1981, we were so much more progressive than that (yeah, right!). Men were now allowed to be an integral part of the whole birthing process with their wives. As a matter of fact, men weren't just allowed, it was downright "expected" that all husbands/fathers be there to actively participate in the birth of their children. That's where the Lamaze natural child-birth classes came in.

As soon as you found out "you" were pregnant, "you" had to find a class to attend as a couple to prepare you for what you would both experience when the birth of your baby happened. This was not optional for too many men in 1981. Nope. She was "expecting," and you were "expected."

But, I'll never forget our Lamaze classes. We had the best instructor! She was an absolute HOOT. She made it so much fun to learn about natural child-birth! Seriously, we laughed a lot in those classes! :-)

Anyway, one of the most critically important strategies she taught us was the importance of having a focal point. You see, in the middle of the actual labor and birthing process, my sweet bride Ellen would need to have a focal point to help her concentrate so that she would not be too distracted by what was happening to the rest of her body (like that would even be possible?). I think we chose a picture on the wall to be her focal point. We were such amateurs the first time, or at least I was! Poor Ellen...

This morning at church our pastor/speaker mentioned in his message entitled "A Change in Perspective" that we need to have a focal point when it comes to our work. He said that we need to see our work as art, and that we need to see our work as worship. If we have a focal point (something/someone beyond just our work being only just plain work), then this is easier for us to do.

That made me think about blogging about the importance of having a focal point.

How many of you find it really hard these days to stay laser focused on the important tasks at hand, not allowing yourself to get easily distracted by urgent or silly stuff in your life? How many times have you been so conflicted by the pain you are going through and/or the sometimes really unimportant tasks that you are asked to do that you give up on what you know you should be focusing on?

Just like in child-birth, when the going got tough, and when there were a whole bunch of things around Ellen that would have easily caused her to be distracted, when she turned her complete attention toward her focal point, she was able to manage and make it through the tough times and the pain. She was able to set her mind on what was to come at the end of the pain (a new life!) by letting her focal point keep her on track.

What's your focal point? What are you focusing on to help you navigate through all the pain and distractions and nonsense that want to take you off course? Is your focal point something/someone that helps you see beyond just the here and now? In light of eternity, a lot of the stuff we allow to distract us here seems so very unimportant, doesn't it?

Maybe it's time you rediscover what you may have once known through your Lamaze classes - that is the importance of having a focal point. In this life, a focal point will help you be effective when everything around you is strange, confusing, painful and/or distracting. Think about it.