I am not a decorator at heart but I recently redecorated my bedroom with the assistance of a friend who has an eye for that sort of thing. The focal point of the room is a quilt I made during the stay at home weeks. Everything else in the room adds to, highlights, shows off the quilt. Because there is only ONE focal point, the room has an air of calm, peace, quiet. Everyone, without exception, has said the same thing about the redo: “It is so peaceful in here.”

I didn’t realize it, but prior to this makeover, my bedroom was a bit chaotic. There were elements in the room that I liked individually, but there was no one center point. It was as if everything screamed to be the focus.

When God created the world and everything in it, he made a center focal point. In the garden, he called it the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. His intention was that he would be the source of life; he would be the center of humanity’s existence. From him, we experience fullness of life, confident that God will share eternal life with us. At the same time, we leave to God that which is for him alone — knowledge of good and evil.

We don’t do that though. Discontent with allowing God to be the center, we put self in the center and then attempt to make everything else revolve around us, including God. As we try to make everything complement us, we see things, people, accomplishments as a means of finding value, worth and dignity. Rather than individuals complementing and pointing to the center — God — individuals clamor to be the center and there is no peace and calm. We try to be what only God can be – the source of life — instead we are an empty hole that sucks life rather than gives it.

In order to step out of the chaos, there needs to be a center focus in life. If that is God, everything complements and revolves around God. Life is lived in love. As we receive love, value and dignity from God, we reflect that to the world around us. In this way, all things operate in harmony.

Do you feel chaotic and unsettled? You might start by checking the focal point of your life. What is in the center? Does everything revolve around you and your desires and needs? Do you look to the Creator to meet your needs, to fill your heart so you can reflect him to others? Or are you trying to do that on your own? This is the first step in lasting change.