You can't depend upon your eyes when your imagination is out of focus. ~ Mark Twain
A couple of days a week you will find me with some old rags, windex, and various other things busily cleaning someone else's house.
One of the ladies I clean for, has a husband with lung cancer. There is nothing the doctors can do for him. They just try to make him "as comfortable" as possible until the day that the cancer will finally consume him.
Grim, I know.
So as I was leaving, she walked me to the door just as she usually does. A real sweetheart this one. She almost closed the door when I remembered to mention something to her so I called out to her, "Diana!" She quickly opened the door again with her face full of questioning. Thinking that maybe I forgot something perhaps?
"Diana, remember that I had mentioned to you before that I took care of my dad when he had lung cancer? Well, he used to use a dehumidifier.............................".
As I proceeded to tell her the rest of the story she looked behind her quickly at her husband sitting in the chair and kept shutting the door more and more and she stepped outside onto the front porch.
I immediately started thinking that maybe I shouldn't have mentioned my dad having lung cancer so loud? Maybe they don't talk about it? Maybe it upsets him? I just couldn't fathom any other reason why she would look at him then step outside and shut the door.
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Our imaginations can be good at times. It lets us be creative. Its the stuff masterpieces are made of. Sometimes on the other hand....imaginations can get us into trouble. When you don't know the facts, its easy to try to "fill in the blanks" with what you THINK or IMAGINE might be the reason or explanation.
Point is, sometimes we make mountains out of mole hills. I think that is why God told us to cast down all imaginations or anything that exalts itself against the Word of God. (2 Corinthians 10:5)
We don't add one ounce to our life by worry. Or fear.
I texted her later. I apologized for "possibly overstepping my bounds" by suggesting a dehumidifier for him. Do you know what she said she was doing when she shut the door? She felt the cold air from the air conditioner going out the door so she shut it so that she didn't let the cold air out. She was grateful that I shared the information with them about the dehumidifier.
This example may not be something you can relate to exactly, but I am sure you have fell into this trap of imagining what really isn't there. We all have. You see, the devil likes to try to blow things out of proportion so that we focus on the problem instead of the solution.
Just keep your eyes on the truth. The solution. In that moment, in that place, the peace enters and that problem doesn't seem so large anymore.