Seeing Snow
Today was the first snow of the season! Okay, we had some flurries last week, but they hardly count. They lasted only a few minutes and the kids didn't get to see them. But this morning we had big ol' flakes and they came down for a couple hours. It's too warm to stick, but we were still excited.
What was the first thing we did? Cleaned the windows. I handed Isabel and Zach a couple Windex cloths and they tackled those fingerprint smudges and sloppy window kisses. What a difference clean glass makes!
As the kids counted snowflakes, I counted dirty windows. Not in my house -- it hasn't been that long since I cleaned the windows; In a house with two preschoolers, clean windows only last a matter of minutes anyway. No, I counted the imperfect ways I view things. We all look at life and its experiences through certain lenses, lenses smudged by our past, by our assumptions, by our expectations. How often do we clean those windows? Are we seeing life as it really is or are we mucking up the view with our own filth?
The only way for us to see clearly is to view life through the eyes of God. He is the Creator of all things; He knows what is real and how it was meant to be. He designed it! And the only way to view life through His eyes is to know Him. How do we know Him? By studying His Word; by opening our hearts and our minds to see His truths all around us.
"Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law." -- Psalm 119:18 (NAS)
Lord, I ask you to clean the windows of my heart. Help me to see today and tomorrow and all the days after that in light of Your truth. Remove the grime of my past; scrape off my dingy bitterness and feelings of entitlement. Open my eyes that I may see Your wisdom and Your design in all of life. Then I will have no alternative to utter amazement, for You are the Creator of wonder!
What was the first thing we did? Cleaned the windows. I handed Isabel and Zach a couple Windex cloths and they tackled those fingerprint smudges and sloppy window kisses. What a difference clean glass makes!As the kids counted snowflakes, I counted dirty windows. Not in my house -- it hasn't been that long since I cleaned the windows; In a house with two preschoolers, clean windows only last a matter of minutes anyway. No, I counted the imperfect ways I view things. We all look at life and its experiences through certain lenses, lenses smudged by our past, by our assumptions, by our expectations. How often do we clean those windows? Are we seeing life as it really is or are we mucking up the view with our own filth?
The only way for us to see clearly is to view life through the eyes of God. He is the Creator of all things; He knows what is real and how it was meant to be. He designed it! And the only way to view life through His eyes is to know Him. How do we know Him? By studying His Word; by opening our hearts and our minds to see His truths all around us.
"Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law." -- Psalm 119:18 (NAS)
Lord, I ask you to clean the windows of my heart. Help me to see today and tomorrow and all the days after that in light of Your truth. Remove the grime of my past; scrape off my dingy bitterness and feelings of entitlement. Open my eyes that I may see Your wisdom and Your design in all of life. Then I will have no alternative to utter amazement, for You are the Creator of wonder!
Labels: cleaning, perspective
5 Comments:
Thanks Tanya! So true and such a good reminder. Enjoy the snowflakes in clear view! May God bless it!
Excellent word, Amen!
Nicely said.
Just a silly aside. I live in South Texas. It hasn't snowed in our town since 1983, six years before my first was born. My youngest, we discovered, didn't believe in snow. We never talked about it and she had only seen it on television Christmas specials. She assumed it was like Santa and elves and pixie dust. I mean, how could something so fun and wonderful be true?
She was so excited when I told her it was real.
Jen & Cami: Thanks for stopping by!
RLP: Too funny! I needed a good laugh. Thanks!
Hi Tanya. I found your post though HighCallingBlogs.com and I like what you wrote. The metaphor of a dirty window is interesting and makes me think -- and that's good. :)
A window does let through light so it's easy to fool ourselves into thinking we are seeing things clearly. Sometimes, it can be pretty easy to miss the grime that is covering the window. And you named some big ones that contribute to that grime -- our past, our bitternesses, our entitlements, our expectations. We could easily add our fears, our angers and our disillusionments.
But what are the Windex cloths that will clean our windows? How about hope, love and peace. How about gratitude, trust and contentment. How about truth, light and wisdom. How about the still voice of our Father who hands us heavenly Windex cloths.
Now, will we let Him point out the smudges in our life that need to be wiped away?
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