Reference Point

I’ve been building things at work. Like modeling in SolidWorks and then milling and drilling aluminum building. Sometimes, though, things don’t always fit. There was the time that the holes were drilled about 2 mm too close to each other. It (rather embarrassingly) took me about 2 hours to try and fix it by using larger drill bits offset slightly from the center (a practice that I would not encourage, as it’s not very efficient). The final product looked… well, let’s not go there. But it worked! Maybe not as well as it could have had it been done correctly the first time, but sufficiently well to get everything working. Every little step- scoring to mark the center of the hole, center punching, center drilling, and then drilling- had its own margin of error. It looked small, but those errors kept compounding. Not pretty. So when it came time to double check all the dimensions, I didn’t base anything off of a previous step. I went back to the original. So that I could make the real thing my reference point.

I think life is kind of similar. We base our decisions and our values off of a foundation. And then if we switch what we’re comparing everything to, everything shifts just a tiny bit. And the next one a bit more. And so on until we wake up one day and wonder how we ever got here. I think it can also happen not only with decisions. Say we’re trying to learn more about God, about our faith. We read books that other people have written based off of what they’ve learned from the Bible. And I think that’s totally great! We can learn a lot from other people. What I think is dangerous is when we take those books and make them the only thing we read and give them as much importance as the original reference point. We need to take those things that we learn and always be comparing it to what the Bible says. Our frame of reference will always be shifting if we base things off of other people. I think it’s a good idea to make sure that we’re constantly referencing the original frame of reference- one that is based off of One who is constant and sure. That way, when we’re done building, we can look back and see something that has straight walls and a solid foundation. Only when we’re using the correct frame of reference can we really walk the way we’ve been called to walk. 

Life Is Beautiful

Life is Beautiful. How often do we see that phrase? There are movies, songs, wall decorations, and probably much much more that bear these three words. Seeing it around me so much makes me want to dismiss it as a mere platitude. But I can’t. Because, truth be told- it’s not. Stop and think about it for just a moment- let the meaning of those three words really sink in. Life. Alive, breathing, vibrant. Is. Current, not was, not will be, but right now. Beautiful. Maybe something that words can’t describe, something that’s breathtaking, something special that makes our hearts soar.

One of my favorite songs is titled “Life is Beautiful” and it’s by The Afters (Ironically, I’m listening to it on repeat right now and it’s my most-played song in recent memory.) I would have thought that by now I would have tired of this song. Somehow, I haven’t. Listen to one of the stanzas:

Living and dying
Laughing or crying
If we have the whole world or have nothing
I know there are long nights
But we'll make it
With every sunrise comes a new light
And all of the things
That make us feel like we have it all

It’s not to say that life isn’t hard. Beauty isn’t found only in the easy things in life. But we have hope- that which gets us through the hard parts, urging us onward. We have the promise of love. The love of those around us, and still if everyone deserts, the love of a God who calls us His children. We are precious in His sight, and that knowledge of His love makes our hearts soar higher than we could dream.

So what makes life beautiful? I think that it’s only beautiful because God has made it beautiful for us. He gives us His love. He gives us His grace to get through the day. He gives us hope for tomorrow and the day after that- and then beyond all the way into infinity. He opens our eyes to see those little details (like sunrises, birds’ nests with baby birds chirping, bunnies calmly munching clover a few feet away) to remind us that there’s more to life than just the harsh reality we sometimes feel envelops us. There’s so much beauty in everything around us.

Isn’t it interesting though, that what we focus on the most when we say “Life is Beautiful” isn’t really cool scenes from nature which we all acknowledge to be beautiful? We focus on friendships, family, relationships. Things we do with people, for people, just enjoying their company. And I think that’s significant. We emphasize the beauty of that because it reflects the reason that we find life to be beautiful. We are social beings and we depend on each other for relationships because we were created that way. We were created with the potential for such great relationships- with each other, but especially with God. And when we see just a little glimpse of that which can be- and that which Christians believe is and is more fully yet to be- that’s when we say life is beautiful.

Life IS beautiful. I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s only that way because God makes it something worth calling beautiful. Something worth cherishing and something worth fighting for. So let’s stop merely going along with all that life brings. Let’s engage and really live it- the way we were created to live. 

Attitude

I initially intended to focus on work in this post because it's taken up a big chunk of my time within the past few weeks. Then I decided that there's a lot more involved than just work. That's why I decided to focus on "attitude."


According to Google Dictionary, attitude is "A settled way of thinking or feeling about someone or something typically one that is reflected in a person's behavior." 


A way of thinking about something that's reflected in my behavior. When I'm faced with long hours at a job that is completely (well, almost) new, I find myself focusing so much on the hard stuff that I miss all the parts that make it great. I've been learning a lot this summer- and getting to work on skills that I had meant to (and wanted to) develop for a while. I didn't know how I would go about doing that though, and definitely didn't expect to have a chance to learn those things this summer at the very least. But I do get to this summer! And that's truly a blessing. 


In light of all the good things that I have at work, I feel like I should have a better attitude towards it. Instead of focusing on how hard it is to learn all these things and still get my work done, I could be thankful for the fact that I get to finally learn Solidworks, that I have friends I can bug when I get stuck, and that I get to design things. Oh, and 3D print in neon yellow. Seriously, everything's better when the colors are bright. Instead of complaining about the hours that I put in (totally self-inflicted I'm starting to think, by the way...) I could be thankful that my lab is a place where I feel safe so that I can put in those hours. I could be thankful that I have enough energy and strength to get through the day. Life isn't easy. It can be easier to deal with if my attitude towards hard things is positive. 


Then there's the non-work aspect of life. In spending time with some of my friends who are going through a rough time, I'm starting to really understand our need for community. We need people to lean on and people to support. That's how we grow and I think that's also how we just get through life in general. It's not easy trying to be there and be supportive. I think that's why attitude is also just that important. Unless I, in my heart, am approaching everything with an attitude of thankfulness and bringing everything to God for Him to take care of, I won't be able to handle the pressure. My attitude has to be one of just passing on the love and grace that God gives me instead of trying to come up with it of my own accord. Any love that I try to supply myself won't be the same love that I receive so bountifully from Christ. And as for caring- there's an upper limit and a lower limit of sorts. Here's what I mean. We need to care about others. I think we'll all agree on that. That's the lower limit. But at the same time, I think there's a point at which we can care about someone or something too much and that becomes not only unhealthy, but also unsustainable. We're not perfect, infinite creatures. Only One can care infinitely, and the good news is that He has cared for us that much.