Open my eyes, Lord!

I am blind as a bat without my contacts or glasses. I am not too far off from the long-standing eye doctor joke, ending with, 

“What chart?”

I’m not sure exactly how long I went thinking the world around me was blurry. Maybe I thought everybody saw the same thing I did. I do remember in the fifth grade, my desk was located in the farthest row possible from the blackboard. (Yes, I know blackboard dates me) I had discovered that if I pulled out on the outer corners of my eyes, that my vision became clearer, long enough for me to read the blackboard. I learned later doing that was actually reshaping the eyes, thus clearing up the vision. It certainly worked, but I looked like an idiot and it tied up my hands. 

My teacher consulted with my mom, and it was off to the optometrist for me. I would soon reappear fitted with those lovely “cat” glasses of the early 70’s. But, it was the trip home with my new glasses that left a lasting impression. I’m sure I resembled the family pet in the front seat as I sat gazing out the window at my new surroundings. For the first time, I was seeing things like birds, high line wires (I knew there were poles, but no wires), individual leaves on trees, house numbers, clouds, airplanes and even faces at a distance …..things I could not see before. I was amazed! I was beholding a whole new world. 

Years ago, a pastor friend of mine, gave me invaluable insight into a “whole new world”. As a spiritual toddler at that time, I was developing a hunger for The Word and wanted to be able to read it and understand it accurately, but some of it was “fuzzy” to me.  He recommended that each time I sat down to read, to first pray using the scripture from Psalm 119:18, 

“Open my eyes that I may behold wonderful things from your law.”

And God honors His Word! The fascination I had experienced as a child beholding my new world with my “new eyes” was a mere flicker in comparison to the unspeakable wonderment I have beheld in the light of God’s Word. And each new year, God continues to reveal new things to me as I pray and seek His Word, beginning always with “Open my eyes, Lord…..” 

If God’s Word seems “fuzzy” to you, I encourage you to pray Psalm 119:18 the next time you sit down to read and see if you do not behold wonderful new things.  No matter where you are spiritually or what stage you are in, God will open your eyes to what may be needed for the moment or perhaps even a new direction He desires for you.  You will stand amazed as you behold a whole new world! 

Rags to Riches

The Beverly Hillbillies, a sitcom of the 60s and early 70s, and a family favorite during my childhood days, was a “rags to riches” sort of show of a poor backwoods family who strike it rich when “Pa”, the Clampett family patriarch discovers oil—black gold, Texas tea—while hunting for mealtime provisions. 

Kinfolk of the Clampetts then urged the family to pack up their belongings and move to California, where they could reside in a large mansion in the Beverly Hills district; a dwelling more befitting their newfound wealth.

The show was a comedic combination of poverty and affluence, and the unsophisticated with the refined as the Clampetts maintained their simpleton lifestyle while having access to millions. It made for amusing entertainment.

When Paul wrote to the believers in Ephesus, he sought to encourage them to recognize the spiritual wealth they had “in Christ”. They were spiritually rich beyond measure but had been living as beggars—spiritual paupers—because of their ignorance of all that was available to them in Christ.

We do the same. 

Many believers today live as beggars, spiritual paupers, and victims of their past because of the same reason: they are not aware of the great wealth they have in Christ. They walk around in the old garments of spiritual poverty—content in their old ways.

Paul writes:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.  In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. 

In all wisdom and insight, He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention, which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory. (Eph. 1:3-14 NASB)

God has given everything we need to live the victorious Christian life. He predestined this great mystery before the foundation of the earth and before you were formed in your mother’s womb. From the days of old, everything took place in its proper order so that this mystery might be revealed to us according to the glory of His grace.

The love and kindness of God intended that we have adoption, acceptance, redemption, forgiveness, wisdom, inheritance, the seal of the Holy Spirit, life, grace, and citizenship—in short, every spiritual blessing. We have all the resources needed for living a victorious Christian life.

Father God, help me to fully grasp the truth of Your word in Eph. 1 that I may know and receive every spiritual blessing for me. Open my eyes and my heart to see what I need to lay down in order to fill up with an abundance of Your blessings to live a victorious life in You, that others may know that You are the One True God, in Jesus' name, amen.  

"All our righteous acts are like filthy rags".  Is. 64:6 

Paul's Powerful Prayer

It’s been said, “We live forward but understand backwards.” 

For many of us, that means we can look back over our lives and see all the stupid things we’ve done, knowing there is nothing we can do to change history. 

It also gives you the opportunity to look back and see God’s protection, His providence, and His promises specifically and purposefully woven throughout your life even when you were completely unaware. 

I have assigned labels to the seasons of my life, arranged in decades. It gives me a snapshot of my life and demonstrates the sovereignty of God regardless of the stupid decisions I made. 

Do you see what I see?

Today, they are called “Retro” trees, but in the 60s and early 70s, silver aluminum Christmas trees were quite the rave.  Our family had one that was full and bushy, adorned with dark pink shiny glass ornaments.  My grandparents’ aluminum tree was more slender, but filled with royal blue satin ornaments easily seen from outside passersby through the large livingroom picture window.

Many years ago, when our kids were small, times had gotten tough for several months. The 80s “oil boom” had gone “bust” while businesses and families struggled to make ends meet, including us.  Christmas time was soon approaching, and my stomach began to ache knowing that the Christmas tree would not have as much under it that year. 

Then it hit me….the Christmas tree!  We had always purchased live trees in the past and just did not feel like we could afford one that year. My husband remembered putting away boxes of decorations for his grandmother a few years before, including a box containing their old aluminum tree.  I was excited at the thought of a nostalgic Christmas tree and relieved at not having to purchase one.

The moment arrived as my husband placed the old box in the center of the room, and the kids immediately began to pull the branches out of the crumbling paper sheaths. Enthusiasm soon turned to disappointment as we slowly began to erect what we later called “Charlie Brown’s Aluminum Tree.” The branches looked more like foil rods with a shiny wild frazzle clinging desperately to the ends. We were hoping against hope the ornaments would miraculously fill in the huge gaps. 

As we stood gazing at our Charlie Brown tree, tilting our heads first one way, and then another. And though I tried to hide it, gloom began to overtake me. Then, the words of my four-year-old son shook me from my trance, “If you do this, it looks really bushy!”

I turned to find him standing with his head tilting backward and his eyes squinting nearly shut.  So, I tried it.  He was right!  With the help of the overhead track lighting filtering through the eyelashes, the tree appeared to be gloriously full.  It all depended on how you looked at it!

Oh to have the faith of a child who still lacks the jading of mankind regardng material goods.  So simple. So profound. 

I wish I could say it turned out to be the best Christmas ever that year and that Chuck landed a job that exceeded his previous salary, but I cannot. Looking back however, I can say that it is the Christmas I think of most often.  Not because of the emotional pain or the lack of gifts under the tree, but because of the greater lesson that day from the perspective of a child. 

“Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble?”(Psalm 10:1, NIV)  I am sure I have posed this question myself a time or two over the years. In fact, after going through trials, we discover that God never hides, but was there all along. He Himself has said, “I will never leave you, nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5, ESV).  

When allowed to go through the dark places, we begin to see light we did not know existed.

Painful times can have a particular objective for us in that they bring us to the end of ourselves enabling us to discover the treasure hidden in the darkness. It is there we find we have the ability to see through spiritual eyes to behold what we had missed all along. 

Father, I thank you for the gift of Your Son, that whosoever believes in Him would not perish but have eternal life in Christ Jesus.  Lord, when times are tough and we feel frazzled, help us to direct our thoughts and prayers toward You, rather than trying to fill in the huge gaps in our soul with the shiny trinkets that offer only temporary fulfillment. You have promised to supply all our needs according to Your riches in glory. And thank you Lord, for those moments in our lives that reveal a greater message, and for using the words of a small child to snap me out of my self-centered gloom. In Jesus name, Amen.

Have you ever experienced those moments when light shined through your darkness in a way you'll nver forget?  Share it below in the comment section. I'd love to hear it.

2015 Rose Parade--Blessed Beyond Measure

Taken during the parade. The open book at the front represents the lives of all those affected by organ donation. So many stories. The butterflies represent the number of people who can be helped through ONE donor--only 8 receiving organs, the rest received bone, eyes, skin or other tissue.. The books are individual stories that need to be told for the precious gifts they've given to so many. Consider becoming an organ donor. 

I open with a confession. It has taken me nearly three weeks to write this. I hope I have done so in a way to honor those involved while sharing the joy of this experience. This was a mixed batch of emotions for me and found it difficult to write for a while.