Looking at Life through Spiritual Eyes

Looking at Life through Spiritual Eyes (Writer's Opinion)

By Carol Round, Special to ASSIST News Service

CLAREMORE, OK (ANS – May 8, 2016) --  “If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me” — Jeremiah 29:13 (NLT).

In a world of man’s making, we’re overloaded with the sights and sounds of too much. What do I mean? In the name of progress and profit, most people own things our ancestors considered extravagances.

My maternal grandfather was a mail carrier in a rural Oklahoma town where owning a car was considered a luxury. Today, most families have at least two, and sometimes more, vehicles parked in the driveway or on the street in front of their houses. Today, we consider it a rite of passage to get a driver’s license at age 16. Both my maternal and paternal grandmothers never learned to drive. Instead, they relied on their husbands to navigate the roadways. When my grandfathers passed away, their wives relied on neighbors for transportation. That’s just how it worked in those days. Neighbors helping neighbors.

In today’s world, many of us don’t even know our neighbors. We no longer sit on our front porches in the evenings, swapping stories and watching our children play until the street lights come on. We’re too tired after a busy day at work. We return home to eat the last meal of the day, sometimes plopped in front of the TV, or afterwards, before we head to bed.

In our busyness, however, we miss what’s really important, including daily glimpses of God. Because we’re focused on making a living or rushing our children to ball practices and games or other after-school activities, we’re missing out on God’s best.

When I was a child growing up in the 50s, life was much simpler, allowing my sister and me and other neighborhood children the luxury of spending time outdoors. God’s creation was our playground. We soaked in the sights and sounds of nature, almost daily.

As an adult, I joined the ranks of those who rushed around, proudly displaying my badge of “busyness.” But I often missed out on those daily glimpses of God. However, that didn’t stop God from drawing me back to Him.

Because of my renewed relationship with Him, beginning in 2001, I see evidence of His grace and love each day. However, it has required me to let go of the unimportant and seek the eternal.

Seeking Him daily, I don’t miss things taken for granted, like the birds in my backyard birdbath or the first buds of spring.

After a tornado hit my neighborhood recently, I was surveying the damage. My home office was untouched. But then I noticed three shiny nails embedded in the sheetrock. They’d not been there before the storm. As I stood in amazement, I realized the significance of the pattern the three formed. With two lined up horizontally and the third vertically below them, the nails formed a cross. For anyone to recognize the significance of this requires seeing life through spiritual eyes.

If we seek Him wholeheartedly, especially in the messes of life, we’ll find Him. I did. In the aftermath of the storm, He spoke to my heart. However, my spiritual eyes were already open.

Photo captions: 1) The thrill of getting your first driver's license. 2) Carol Round.

Note: I always love hearing from my readers. Please feel free to e-mail me at carol@carolaround.com, or check out my website at www.carolaround.com.

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