I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve told our second and third children to “stay where I can see you.” While our eldest child has always stuck pretty close, our next two offspring seem to have taken the “third parent” phenomenon to its max and don’t show much fear of wandering at all. Oi. Holding hands or riding in the cart just does not hold the same allure as the freedom to roam does for them.

But somewhere along the journey, I’ve learned to flip that instruction to make it radically more effective. If you really think about it for a moment, “stay where I can see you” is a pretty abstract concept for a child, especially a small one. It is asking a child to be mindful of not only where he is as you two move throughout a store or other public place, but also of where you are and of what you can actually see at any given moment. That’s a lot of information for a little person’s brain to process.

So somewhere along the journey, I’ve learned to flip that instruction to make it radically more effective.

Now I tell our little ones to “stay where you can see me.”

I think there is an application there that also holds true as we walk with God. Sometimes we think we’ll just wander and explore a bit, as long as we “stay where He can see us”… But our focus then is on our exploration, on the direction we

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18).

But it is better by far to keep where we can see Him. Then we can start to move away from operating our lives with just a vague awareness of His presence. Instead He sets the course and we follow it: We fix our gaze on Him.

“Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always” (Psalm 105:4).

What’s one way you can keep your eyes and focus on God today?