Space

We all need space, somewhere to go or somewhere to be. Sometimes to be alone and at other times to be with people. Our spaces can be private but often they are available to everyone. We like our special space but it can’t always be as we want it. There’s other people there or maybe there’s no one there. When it changes we don’t like it. We pass judgement on these people, just for there presence or lack of it. What right have they got to be in our space, changing it so its not to our liking.

I love Pitville park. I suppose you could say its one of my special spaces. It’s a park that suits all occasions and moods, for meeting friends or for being alone. The other night I went for a walk in the park and as I went along I noticed that there were lots of other people using this space as their own special space to get away. There were youths escaping from parents, young couples silently enjoying the other persons company, runners, dog walkers and fishermen, all there for their own reason yet all sharing the same special place. Its so easy to pass judgement on these people, wishing the youths would be more responsible or the couples to be less in your face and the runners to be less enthusiastic. But what right have we got to pass judgement? We don’t own the space and we don’t own them and so there’s nothing we can do about it. If your not careful this can also affect your mood.

I’ve been challenged recently by the ‘I want never gets’ statement. I assume I know what I want and when I want it but actually it should be what god wants and in his perfect timing. How do we know what’s best for us and what will be best in the long run. As I sat in the park I slowly realised that there’s so much in the world that you cannot see. Your peripheral vision just contains too much for your brain to handle never mind process thoughts about. This got me thinking more. We always have such a limited view of our current situation and experiences but god sees it as it truly is and he sees and knows how each situation fits together into his grander designs and plans. However much we stop and think we always get a distorted image. Imagine looking at a reflection in a lake. A beautiful scene or person reflected in the water yet it’s interrupted with ripples and movement on the surface of the water. Initially it looks beautiful but as you look up you realise its not as good as the real thing. When we keep our eyes focussed to the floor we only see the reflection but when we look up we see it through Gods eyes in its true beauty.

However much control we want we can’t have it. We can’t have the spaces to ourselves and we can’t live in a world where things always go our way. Perhaps more importantly we don’t properly see our situations or spaces. To be honest I’m glad I cant control all these things, id surely mess it up and then id be even more miserable. God has each space and situation in his hands and whether I should it or not I’m glad it’s all controlled by him.