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Seeing the Light

It always amazes me to see how God works things together, how He speaks the same things to different people, how He works to get His message out. I had planned to write this yesterday, but I procrastinated only to wake up this morning and find that one of the leadership team for my Online Bible Study had already written it. 

In her post, she talks of all the dark articles regarding events happening in our world today. I agree with her that we need to be aware, but is this where our focus should lie? And what about that person on your news feed that uses Facebook as their rant forum? It's all so depressing if we don't balance it with hope.

Lately, I have been trying to get back into my walking routine and was dismayed several days ago to discover shortly into my walk that I left my ear buds at home. Whatever was a girl to do? How about talking to Jesus? 

It occurred to me that when God tells us to "Be still" in Psalm 46:10, He is not just telling us 'don't move your body'. He is telling us 'don't move your mouth'... quiet your mind... listen to Me. I felt He was telling me at that moment just to enjoy that time walking in His presence and observing the blessings around me. Profound spiritual truth? No. Practicing being with Him and seeing the world through Him. You bet.

So here are my not so mind blowing observations:
1. I am blessed with strong legs, heart and lungs (albeit a little out of shape) that get me through my walk everyday.
2. Cardinals and huge swallowtail butterflies live on my route. The creativeness of our God is astounding.
3. There is a hawk that sits on the edge of a rooftop and screeches at me as I pass. I am strongly suspicious she is protecting something up there. I am the only looming threat on her horizon. 
4. The osprey flying over the lake. So majestic!
5. The little lavender, yellow, and pink flowers that are tucked in along the path. What a sweet little detail He added. I always wish I could take pictures of them but that would interfere with my heart rate and my average walk time. Hmmm.... maybe I should consider pausing that workout next time.
6. The rain clouds that blew in to cool me off just as I was finishing up my walk yesterday and really needed a cool breeze. He cares for our needs no matter how small.

These are such small examples of the little blessings God has tucked into our world. My life includes many larger blessings and certainly this world is filled with many things to be hopeful about. We just have to open our eyes and see them. There is much darkness in the world - but we have to look at the light. It's all about our focus.

So what about you? Where are you looking today? What are you talking about? What are you posting on your news feed? What's your hashtag for today? Let's spread a little hope, shall we?

"Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have HOPE: Because of the Lord's great love WE ARE NOT CONSUMED, His compassions NEVER FAIL. The are new EVERY MORNING; great is Your faithfulness. I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him'. The Lord is GOOD to those whose HOPE IS IN HIM, to the one who seeks Him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord." Lamentations 3:21-26








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