What Becomes Important When You Cannot See?

What becomes Important when you cannot see? 

Ian gifted me with a sunset dinner cruise on the Belle of Louisville, the oldest still running steamboat in the United States.  It was a lovely dinner on a lovely ship at a lovely time of the evening…sunset.

As we took our turn in line, we noticed that there were a substantial number of ship guests who were blind and who were walking with seeing-eye dogs and/or canes used by the blind.  The number of such guests was so substantial that we surmised there must be a convention in Louisville and the group decided to join us on our ship ride. 

Of course, the general seeing population gave way to these individuals, special accommodations were made to get them seated, to assist them in securing their dinner and to arranging that their spot on the top of the ship for sightseeing was secured. 

Quiet courtesy was afforded each unsighted person by those who surrounded them.  Unspoken kindnesses. 

It was moving. 

There was no pity from the crowd.  There was no awkward gawking…or too long of glances…there was just 

Unspoken kindness.

It was touching…moving me to tears.  Citizens from all over the state, country and world politely gave up their space in line to offer it to another.   

Hands moved to arms to position a person in the line.  Arms went through arms to draw a person close.  Arms went about shoulders to move forward an individual. 

Like an orchestra of gentility….or waves of compassion…those who could not see were assured the best spot on the ship just so their faces could feel the sweet breeze on their faces…. 

Breezes which would draw a picture that their eyes could not see. 

And, sweeter still…. 

These sightless friends had a bold carefulness about them which could not help but draw in our seeing eyes’ hearts… 

They did not tread fearfully around they ship….they walked surely and boldly and trustingly.  As if their life depended on being confident in the steps they took. 

As if they had learned the hard lesson to have faith in the unseen and in their ability to transverse the terrain of life not having a clear picture of the path but having faith in the journey. 

Powerful. 

The feel of “grace” was palpable….tangible…. 

“the elegance, beauty, smoothness of movement;  dignified, polite and decent behavior; generosity of spirit, a capacity to tolerate, accommodate, or forgive”

And, while their eyes might not be able to take in the beauty and wonder of the sights around us…the strong and bulking ship, the beauty of the woodworking on board, the lovely landscapes we passed by with each wave…while their eyes never beheld the little children dancing and the waves lapping on shore and even the orange-sherbet sunset, they saw.

They saw. 

As surely as I believe in God, I felt their “seeing”…..the lilt of their head to capture a breeze and draw deeply a breath evidencing an inner vision… 

It was as if God was in their body drawing for them a picture right on their hearts. You could see the moment it happened…their posture drawing up and their heads tilting slightly back as they drew in their view…

Closing eyes which could not see to open spirits which could. 

Soaking up the warmth of the sunset….drawing in the sounds of lapping waves as they hit the shore. 

And you could feel it… 

Peace 

They were at peace.  

Soaking in the moments of majesty that sea and wind and life could offer.  Drawing in a calm that came from accepting.   

Tenderly, willingly, gently embracing….. 

And, we wondered…what do we who see miss? 

And, what would truly become important if we could not see? 

Would the color of our clothes, the model of our car or even the leather of our Bible matter?  Would painting our homes or choosing a dog or burning the toast matter? 

Instead, would the words that we speak, the little moments of listening, the singing of our family be that which touched our hearts? 

Would the laughter of children, the feel of soft cotton pillows and taste of sweet oranges bring joy? 

I can see and I am grateful that I was born with and still have the favor of my sight.  Thank you God, for my eyes and the windows to the world they provide. 

But, as surely as the sun will rise tomorrow, God willing, so, too, do these new friends see…and, I am not certain that what they see is not more worthy…more heartfelt….more joyous… 

Because while they don’t see with their eyes…as do I… 

They clearly see with their hearts, their spirits…. 

And, I am moved…to slow down…to appreciate…. 

And, to consider, 

“What would become important if I could not see?” 

Blessings,

Lesa

The Hiding Place....

Excerpt from The Hiding Place

“Fridays….the recurrent humiliation of medical inspections…a Fall chill had settled into the walls.  Still, we were forbidden even to wrap ourselves in our own arms, but had to maintain our erect, hands at sides position…..”Surely there is no more wretched sight than the human body unloved and uncared for.”  

…I could not see the necessity for the complete undressing:  when we finally reached the examining room a doctor looked down each throat, another..at our teeth, a third between each finger….after all that we trooped down the cold corridor and picked up our X-marked dresses at the door.

But it was one of these mornings while we were waiting, shivering in the corridor, that yet another page in the Bible leapt into life for me.

HE hung naked on the cross. 

I had not known – I had not thought….the paintings, the carved crucifixes showed at least a scrap of cloth.  But this, I suddenly knew, was the respect and reverence of the artist.  But oh – at the time itself, on that other Friday morning – there had been no reverence.  No more than I saw on the faces around us now.

I leaned toward Betsie(her sister) and said, “Betsie, they took HIS clothes, too.

 Ahead of me I heard a little gasp…”Oh Corrie, And, I never thanked Him.”

                                      ~Corrie Ten Boom (The Hiding Place)

Dare to be a DAVID......

It is not often that I am shocked. 

But, as I sat in our seat at church yesterday, I was truly, deeply..intimately….

Shocked.

And, in a good way…

Truth was told from the “pulpit” of the church I attended yesterday.

Painful truth.

The minister’s story began with beloved King David…the “man after God’s own heart”.  I have always loved King David…I think because he is the author of at least some of the Psalm and because he was not perfect in his life but he was a man who wanted so badly to give God his whole heart. 

Even as a very young girl, I loved the Psalm. 

Real life is portrayed in the Psalm. 

They were written in the language of the human spirit. They record, in powerful, poetic language, a person's response to God. From a desperate cry for help to an ecstatic shout of joy, each Psalm attempts to reach out and communicate with the God of the universe.  The Psalms of complaint are a model of Godly response to suffering. Rather than expect us to remain stoic through our suffering, God wants us to pour out our hearts and souls to him. He also, however, wants us to remember His loving care for us and how he has forgiven our sins. This will help us trust Him in the future.

Written by: Ted Phillips

It was not a “neat and tidy” lesson we heard yesterday.  Yes, the minister had an outline for his listeners to follow as he poured through scripture, the staff of his words telling us about King David.  Yes, he stayed on task with the outline.  Scripture was read and we were given time to find and reflect on each passage. 

From that perspective, I guess it was “neat and tidy” and I, who love organization, was able to follow in rapt attention… 

But, then I heard these words and everything changed… 

“You are only as sick as your secrets”…. 

He told David’s story….which most of us in the fellowship have heard and know and understand.  David, King, rather than going into battle, stayed home and committed adultery, deception, murder and sins which go hand in hand with such behavior.  He told how this beloved David had begun as a simple shepherd boy, grown to become King and fallen to great sin.  The minister explained to us that while David’s sin was horrific as is all of our sin, it was his seeking to cover up the sin which caused David’s heart to flood with guilt and in that guilt David fell and in that falling, David came to know God in an even more real and intimate way…. 

David learned three things about the Agony Of Guilt:

  It draws you into silence and in silence, you are removed from seeking forgiveness

  It draws you into great sorrow which robs you of the joy God would call into your life

  It draws you into great secrecy as you hide your sin, so you hide your real self

But, while David was not faithful to God, God was faithful to David.  He sent Nathan with a mirror to show David his sin’s reflection in a way David could see and understand.  And then, David did what God calls all of us, sinners to do: 

·         Accept full responsibility for his sin

·         Acknowledged the sinfulness of his sin

·         Addressed his confession of his sin to God 

I don’t think any of this part of the lesson was new to most of us in the sanctuary.  But, it was presented in such a way as to renew our understanding that God is a forgiving God, a loving God, a compassionate God and a disciplining God.   

“How can an adulterer and a murderer be called a "man after God's own heart?" I believe it is because when he failed, he repented and then turned back to God (see Psalm 51). I love the fact that this man who failed grievously could still be called a man after God's own heart. This is good news for all of us who want to honor and please the Lord and yet fail in our Christian walk. And all of us fail!” 

Had the minister ended his lesson here, we could have walked away with a great lesson on which to base our life.  We would have learned that sin can be forgiven if we but turn from it, repent, and choose God. 

We could have walked out of the sanctuary and into the sunshine of our Sunday and pocketed our notes and been filled for the day with God’s message to us. 

But, this minister did what few have the courage to do… 

Something I have never heard done before… 

I am 50 years old, I have been raised in the church for all of those 50 years.  I can count NO times in all of my church attendance when a minister of God’s word stood from the pulpit and shared his own personal sin by name. 

Never. 

In fact, I have sat in the pew and heard one say that in his life he had very little hardship and issues which drew him to stumble and sin.  I confess, I did not then nor do I today, relate.   

So, it caught me totally off-guard, no it shocked me to the core of my being….deep in my soul where God’s voice calls the loudest, to hear this minister tell another story of a “man after God’s own heart” who struggled with a sin for over 20 years – who had a Nathan (or two or three) who confronted him… 

This minister told of the path…the journey….the sin in his life.  He was not melodramatic.  He was not seeking pity.  He did not make excuse. 

He did what David did…Acknowledged his sin, called it what it was…and sought forgiveness from God Almighty.  He acknowledged how his sin hurt his wife, his children, his family, his friends and his church. 

He acknowledged that there were consequences for his sin. 

He did not cry, he did not try to evoke emotion from his church family.   

He just exposed what had been a secret…one which he could not overcome until he did what David did. 

Told the Truth

And, in so-doing, made God’s word come to life in a way it would not have had he not been willing to share with us.

 I don’t think I was the only one shocked.  There was a reverent hush in that sanctuary….where you could feel the presence of God in a real and sincere way.  

Humility lived in that sanctuary.

Compassion lived in that sanctuary.

Love grew in that sanctuary. 

Guilt was washed away in that sanctuary……guilt which wraps his ugly arms around a soul with a thousand links in its chain of bondage.  Guilt which can seek and destroy was lifted. 

And, joy was restored. 

And, just as David was a man after God’s own heart, so, too, was it evident is this brother…. 

But, he did not stop with his own story….he gave his listeners the tools to remove guilt from their own lives. 

·         Ask God to remove your sin – you are dead until God forgives

·         Ask for your joy to be restored – in joy there is deep satisfaction from God

·         Ask to be renewed in his fellowship

·         Refocus on your future – recommit – reconnect with God 

When a soul bears itself to you in its beauty it is a precious thing.  When a soul bears itself to you in humble contriteness, it is a tender thing.  When a soul bears itself to you in abstract bold expression of its sinfulness, it is a Godly thing. 

Courage was abounding in that sanctuary.  Courage real and true. 

And, while I don’t know what the future will hold for this dear minister.  I do believe this. 

Lives were changed. 

Hope was born.

God was present.

Blessings,

Lesa

PS.  He added a side note and a challenge….”let’s not kid ourselves…we are all sinners….if we read One Thousand Shades of Gray, we are reading pornography; if we place value on things to the extent we remove God from our center, we are sinning….if we talk of another person in gossip, we are sinning…if we turn away our brothers and sisters because they sin, we are sinners.  Let’s tell the truth…starting with ourselves…and that truth-telling draw ourselves closer to God and one another.”

Sundays….

I Love Sundays..

Things are simpler on Sundays. 

Gratefulness comes easier, prayer time comes gentler,

Time in quiet thought comes sweeter.

Early morning time with God on a Sunday makes the heart of a woman long for “home”.

Early morning time with God on a Sunday makes the heart of a woman tender.

Some of my most intimate times of personal reflection have happened on an early Sunday morning…

As the house sits quiet and the breathing of my husband and children lists lightly down the stairs….

And, deep, deep in my heart I am touched in the knowing…

That I am loved      and treasured       and cared for by the gentle hands of a heavenly  Father.

That while life may strive to beat one down, God Almighty will hold one up.

That “Jesus, the tender Shepherd, hears me…”

I draw great strength on Sundays, strength which buoys me up and makes me ABLE.....

Able to live and breathe and survive..

And thrive.

Able to take in and able to let go.

Able to forgive and seek forgiveness.

Able to love and be loved.

And to reflect…

And to see things through HIS eyes and do things in HIS way.Sundays remind me of WHOSE I am….

God’s Girl.

God’s grateful girl.

God’s forgiven and precious and loved girl.

And, in the heart of God’s girl lives hope…and joy…and peace.

And, a tenderness so powerful that you could light the sky with it.

Because in Christ, all things are possible…

And all possible things which are God inspired are good.

And, all good things bring about love and compassion and joy.

And isn’t that what HE is all about?

Love…..Compassion….Joy

So, I love Sundays

And the fresh, clean hung-out-on-the-line cleanliness of God’s grace

Never is He more near my simple heart than on Sunday

“Son-day”

His day.

My gift from HIM is in my worship.

His gift to us is His Life.

Wrapped up in a blanket of white forgiveness and “bowed” with a cross…

And, all He asks in return

Is for us to “love one another as He loves us.”

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” ³⁷ Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’^{[a] 38} This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^{[b] 40} All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

And, in this loving on others, of one another, we honor Him

Simple

A simple request from a much beloved Father.

Love when it is easy.

Love harder when it is not easy.

Love with our words and our actions and our deeds.

Just.

Love……..

For GOD is of LOVE…..

And, it starts today, this gift of a Sunday….

Blessings,

With Love for Him and you,

Lesa