Eyes to Perceive
Dust is everywhere. I am seeing it more. Covering the piano, the steps, the furniture, the pile of books on the side that are waiting to be put away.You see, I'm looking for dust. My new vacuum cleaner in hand, mop leaning against the wall, a rag over my shoulder, I'm ready for dust. The problem with this is that there's no end to this dust-hunting. I have barely finished my rounds and dust has collected again. I stop only because I'm too tired to continue.
Seeing is everything. I see what I believe to be there. When I am busy seeing other things, I don't see the dust. Or maybe I still see it but I don't perceive it. It doesn't bother me.
Last week we finished up reading Acts as a family. The last part of chapter 28 struck me. "Go to the people and say, you will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For the people's heart has been calloused, they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and I in turn will heal them."
To see and not perceive. Hear and not understand. Musing upon this I am convicted. How much of what I see around me just passes through my eyes but not to my heart? To see with my heart. That is what I need the Lord to help me do.
To not see things for what they truly are is to be blind. A glass of juice knocked over waiting to be wiped up, even that isn't just a mess waiting a rag. A child sitting on a couch waiting to be read to is not just a task to check off my list. A meal to make. A bathroom to disinfect. A pile of dishes to be washed. A full inbox. How do I perceive in all of this? My index cards of people I pray for sit on the counter, dirty from splashes of batter. I glance up from my morning muffin-making, and I see a name. Rebecca. Not just a name. A sister that I must pray for. This morning I stop to pray. As I do so, the clouds part, my glasses are wiped, and I regain perspective. I can so easily be distracted by my tasks, and miss what God has for me in the moment.
My sister-in-law Jenn is here. She has talked to me about "mindfulness", being fully present, something that she is using as a therapist with some of her clients. I am thinking about this this morning. Being full present in the moment. Lord, help me not to miss what you have you have for me in this moment. Give me eyes to not only see but also to perceive. To perceive what you are trying to teach me, speak to me in this moment. To have lived a long life and not to have truly lived, that would be really easy to do. There is a distinction in Luke's words, "to see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them." To turn. Hebrews 12:1, "Looking away unto Jesus, the Author and Perfector of our faith.." To look away. "Turn your eyes upon Jesus...."
Asking for eyes to perceive, ears and a heart of understanding....
Seeing is everything. I see what I believe to be there. When I am busy seeing other things, I don't see the dust. Or maybe I still see it but I don't perceive it. It doesn't bother me.
Last week we finished up reading Acts as a family. The last part of chapter 28 struck me. "Go to the people and say, you will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For the people's heart has been calloused, they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and I in turn will heal them."
To see and not perceive. Hear and not understand. Musing upon this I am convicted. How much of what I see around me just passes through my eyes but not to my heart? To see with my heart. That is what I need the Lord to help me do.
To not see things for what they truly are is to be blind. A glass of juice knocked over waiting to be wiped up, even that isn't just a mess waiting a rag. A child sitting on a couch waiting to be read to is not just a task to check off my list. A meal to make. A bathroom to disinfect. A pile of dishes to be washed. A full inbox. How do I perceive in all of this? My index cards of people I pray for sit on the counter, dirty from splashes of batter. I glance up from my morning muffin-making, and I see a name. Rebecca. Not just a name. A sister that I must pray for. This morning I stop to pray. As I do so, the clouds part, my glasses are wiped, and I regain perspective. I can so easily be distracted by my tasks, and miss what God has for me in the moment.
My sister-in-law Jenn is here. She has talked to me about "mindfulness", being fully present, something that she is using as a therapist with some of her clients. I am thinking about this this morning. Being full present in the moment. Lord, help me not to miss what you have you have for me in this moment. Give me eyes to not only see but also to perceive. To perceive what you are trying to teach me, speak to me in this moment. To have lived a long life and not to have truly lived, that would be really easy to do. There is a distinction in Luke's words, "to see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them." To turn. Hebrews 12:1, "Looking away unto Jesus, the Author and Perfector of our faith.." To look away. "Turn your eyes upon Jesus...."
Asking for eyes to perceive, ears and a heart of understanding....
thanks for this message, jenn. hard to always be mindful as a mom with so many "to-do's." thanks for the encouragement and reminders.
ReplyDeleteSo good to read and to remember, Jenn. This post has lingered in my mind---instructed my heart---since reading it the first time. Thanks
ReplyDeleteThanks also for your sweet card--a big, fun, love surprise!
practicing this morning, kids are piling up pillows and jumping into them and then erupting into hilarious laughter. hard to ignore and it's definitely contagious... maybe I'll go jump with them.... :)
ReplyDelete