Tag: Seeing

Posted in Family, friends, Grace, gratitude, life, love, loving others, priorities, Scripture, thankful

Just Like Magic

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw.” 2 Kings 6:17

Just like magic…there it was. So, a long time ago, you know, back in the mid-eighties, a “thing” was going around.  The bottom line was you were supposed to look at this picture that seemed to be a picture of really nothing and if it was your lucky day, suddenly, a 3-D image would appear.  It was crazy.  I remember one Sunday afternoon we were at a friend’s house, and I was staring at this large picture like crazy. And then it happened. Boom.  A 3-D picture just jumped off the page.  I remember shouting, “I see it, I see it” and just about that time—it was gone.

A couple of days ago, I received an email, and it is generally full of interesting tidbits and the like. Well, it said that there was an arrow in the FedEx logo.  Well, I certainly had never seen one, so you know I had to go and look.  And…I did.  I Googled FedEx and clicked on images and there were tons to see.  I looked and no arrow.  I looked again and still no arrow.  I was just about to think that the email writer person was jerking my chain and then it happened.

Between the “E” and the “X” there was perfect, plain as the nose on your face arrow. I was and still am amazed at how I didn’t see it and then “bam” I did.  And the cool part is that once you see it, you cannot “unsee” it.  Trust me when I see the FedEx logo the first thing that grabs my attention is the arrow.

It made me wonder how many wonderful things surround us every day and we simply don’t see them.  How many miracles has the Dearest Father placed in our world and for whatever reason, we just look right past them.  The answer, of course, is to make it a point to start being intentional in our looking for them. I am sure I never would have seen the arrow if someone had told me to look.

As you journey today, let me encourage you to intentionally look for the miracles and blessings scattered around the landscape of your life.  Trust me, look intentionally and you will see them. If you need a little help, just ask and the One who made it all will make them apparent.  He loves it when we look, and He loves it when we know that “He’s got this.”  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, forgiveness, Grace, gratitude, life, loving others, prayer, priorities, Scripture, thankful, wisdom

My Blurry World

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.” Romans 13:14

One day it became obvious.  We all know about DNA and how we pick things up from our ancestors.  Whether it is hair (or lack of it) from an uncle or our leaning toward a certain body build, the ones who have gone before have left their fingerprints all over us. However, sometimes, it doesn’t work that way.  My Daddy and Mama both wore glasses and yet somehow, I ended up with pretty good vision.  I can remember in my younger years I could spot something in the distance that others would miss.  It was better than 20/20.

Then one day I noticed something.  While I don’t remember the exact day, I do remember the thing that called my attention to it.  One day, I looked down at my watch and realized that it was a bit fuzzy.  Hmmmm.  So, I moved my arm around a bit and soon everything was back in focus.  There….problem solved.  This went on for a while and though it was a slight inconvenience it wasn’t a deal.  Yet.

I was about 40 when this “slight inconvenience” began but I don’t think I fully understood that it was a beginning.  As the years went by, I began playing the trombone. You know, to get my eyes to adjust I would have to move my watch, or the book or whatever, in and out to gain focus.  That worked…until one day my arms just weren’t long enough.  My eye doctor told me what I already knew—it was time for readers.

Readers are these glasses you wear when your arms are too short. You don’t wear them all the time, you simply put them on when you need to look at something close up.  So, every morning, I wake up—or at least that’s the plan. And, because my regular vision is good, I still have the ability to see around the room and far off.  But when I sit down and want to read my Bible or my iPad it instantly becomes apparent—I need my readers.  I quickly remember that it is a blurry world without them—at least my close-up world is. So, I slip them on and boom—I can see—clearly.

The key is remembering where your glasses are.  I have multiple pairs in my home office,  I have two on my desk and one by my chair when I read.  I know that they are essential—to see close-up.  I know some people struggle with the far-off thing and I might too one day but for now…readers are my friends…readers are my essentials.  Nobody wants to live in a blurry world, especially when the world is so blurry you can’t make heads or tails of anything.

I’m a Jesus follower and because of that I know there is a pretty promising future out there.  I’m sure He has my future in His hands though I’m not sure what that always looks like.  I am learning just to hang on and trust.  I do know ultimately because of my faith in Him (and certainly not because I deserve it) I will spend my forever with Him in a place called Heaven. I don’t know where you land with that but, hey, it is most definitely worth checking out.  Grab a copy of the Bible and read it for yourself.  It’s been around a really long time with no revisions so it’s something that can be trusted.

But that is then. What about the here and what about the now?  Well, just like I really need a little help reading up close, I need more than a little help to do life—up close and personal. And that is one of my favorite things about following Jesus.  He doesn’t wait for a time way off in the future to be there for me.  He is here now.  Sometimes it is from the Bible, sometimes it is in my every day walkabout life, and sometimes it seems like a still small voice but He is there to help me in my otherwise blurry life. Over and again, I see His handiwork—I call them love notes—as He helps me journey.  I’m learning the more I look—the more I see.  The more I see—the more I want to look.

It took me awhile but now it is a natural reflex for me to put my glasses on. When I pick up a book, glasses on. When I’m reading the instruction manual, glasses on.  When I’m setting the thermostat, glasses on.  I’m also learning to put on Jesus the same way.  Difficult decision…Jesus on.  Wisdom to make it through the day…Jesus on.  Need help forgiving or being kind…Jesus on.  Paul, one of the writers in the New Testament, says that we should make it a point to put on Jesus, but he doesn’t stop there. He says that we should not even crack the door open for things that are contrary to the Word. He knows nothing blurs our world like going crossways with God. And here’s the amazing part…it really works.  Just like my glasses give me clarity, so does Jesus.  He makes life make sense.  And I have the confident assurance that because He can see clearly…He always knows the answer.  And because He does, He’s got this.