This morning I can see the water spots on the window, made plain by the direct morning sunlight. It annoys me, because I cleaned that window recently. “How do they get there?” I wonder.

Then my perspective changes – twice.

First, I realize my gaze is fixed on the window itself, and on its surface. Yet the window exists to let in light and offer a view. When I focus on the spots, I miss the joy. I miss the sunbeams. I miss the sky. I miss the purpose.

Second, I realize how the spots got there. My sprinkler system has wet the top of the air conditioner, whose fan blows the water onto the window. The spots appear because my other systems are working behind the scenes. My yard is drinking; my inside environment is cooling.

Isn’t that like life? I focus on the surface – my circumstances. Good or bad, the circumstances can distract me from experiencing the joy of God’s light in my life. They can steal my focus from viewing the amazing vistas of God’s love.

They can keep me from recognizing that their very existence may be the result of a life well watered and an environment made bearable by God’s own hand. Or they can make me thankful that I have been delivered from darkness.

May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:11–14)