Take a step back. Look up.

We had just checked into a resort in Florida and we always love when they have these nice screened in porches off the back. This particular porch had an entrance off the main living room as well as off the master bedroom. Unfortunately, as much as we tried, we could not get the sliding door from the living room to open. 

A very minor inconvenience, mind you. 

Nonetheless, one we wanted to overcome. After much travail, we were sure the mechanism was just broken and we’d need help from maintenance to get it resolved. 

The next day, I was able to get someone from guest services on the phone to explain the problem and request help. He started to explain some switch that I just needed to flip in order to make it work. I’d tried everything, so I sincerely doubted it and told him what I was seeing in front of me. 

Sir, I’m going to need you to take a step back, he said, and look up.

When I did what he said, I could see that our obstacle was not a jammed locking mechanism, but a small plastic piece adhered to the other end of the door. When it was flipped down, it acted as a safety lock by keeping the door from moving. All I had to do was flip it up. 

But I’d been so focused on what I saw as the problem, that I never saw the solution that was so close to me. 

Several weeks and many travel adventures later, we arrived back to our hometown in Indiana. We went straight into back-to-back family gatherings (both involving camping), first with my side and then with Emily’s. 

We’d moved out of our house a month ago. 

We’d lived out of our suitcases for a month. 

We were staying with family for a few nights before then transitioning to campers and cabins. 

And at this particular moment there were lots of logistics and arrangements to be made as we made our way through this leg of our journey.  

While I had 2 straight days of non-stop grading to do in order to enter final grades for my graduate counseling students. 

It felt like too much. Emily and I were looking at each other going - somehow our planning for this particular point in the transition was not up to par. We’d overlooked important elements in the timeline and course of events, most importantly that this transition fell directly on the time that I concluded teaching two courses and started teaching two new ones. 

We both gritted our teeth as we resolved to steel ourselves for the difficult aspects of the transition we faced. 

I’m going to need you to take a step back. Now look up.

The words of my lifeline from the resort came back to me. We were so fixated on temporary issues and the problem as we personally defined it. We needed to step back and look up at the big picture.

Where is God in this? What is He saying to us right now? 

I can promise you that it’s not to worry about our circumstances, to feel dejected, or to ruminate on the ways our plans fell short. 

Our Father is good and he is for us. Even now He is working things together on our behalf and for His glory. Even in this present moment there is room for us to learn, grow, connect, and become more deeply rooted in Him. 

Genuinely, this was the shift our souls needed. We entered into greater peace and rest as we stopped complaining to ourselves about the challenges and instead focused on what is lasting, what is important, what is good. 

Maybe you, too, with whatever worries are on your mind, need to hear the words of our guest services guru: 

I’m going to need you to take a step back. Now look up.