Keeping the Proper Focus in Life

My senior year of high school I decided to try pole vaulting. There were not very many people on the team that did pole vaulting and we needed more people, so I decided to try it out. Shanna Mailloux on the team had a personal trainer and was very skilled at pole vaulting; we often went to her for advice. One day we asked her to watch us and give us suggestions on how to improve.

When it was my turn, I ran down the track towards the bar. After reaching the bar and inevitably messing up, I went to her to see how I could improve. She quizzed me to see if I could tell her what I did wrong and I tried to think of what it was. She asked me where my eyes were while I was running. So I told her that I looked at the box, the bar, her and the other girls standing by. She was very pretty and so were most of the girls on the track team.

Then, she proceeded to teach me a lesson that I will never forget. I have heard it many times before and since in various forms but mostly theoretically, here it was literal. She told me that I needed to keep my focus on the box the whole time runnning up to the bar; I needed to keep my focus on the box and not divert from it. I don't remember if she went on to explain why, but it continues to amaze me at how true that is.

As we run down the path we need to keep our eyes strictly, diligently focused on the box. The box is the center of the whole event. The box houses the pole once it is placed inside. It is the pivotal point which allows for the transfer in direction, allowing us to rise high above the earth which holds us bound. The box is the foundation which supports us as we rise to previously unknown heights. There are many analogies which God gives us in life that directly correspond to the purpose of this life and how to get there; this is a powerful one. The box is Christ. Without Christ we cannot cross the threshold of heaven without falling short or being broken by the bar.

(I will continue the analogy of the whole pole vaulting event and how every part corresponds with the purpose of this life in my post titled Does Grace Really Save You?.)