Open My Eyes

I hate putting away the Christmas stuff, then finding one more thing that I didn’t see. More often than not, the day after I pack up the decorations, I find one more ornament on the floor in the corner of the room, or one more snowman on the kitchen counter. This will be the year, I thought. This will be the year that I put away all of the Christmas decorations.
Despite my best efforts, not long after the last box had been packed and put away, I found it. A tall, slender, blue vase with silver glitter was there on the floor of my living room. The vase that usually makes me smile sat there reminding me of how easy it is to overlook something that you’ve seen every day for a month.
That the vase is not the only thing that I’ve overlooked. God’s blessings are all around me, but I sometimes don’t see them. I take them for granted and allow my problems and pettiness to loom larger on the landscape of my life. When I do that, I miss the blessings.
I’m not alone in overlooking something. Genesis 21 recounts the day that Hagar spent in the desert with her son. Out of water and hope, she sat down and sobbed. “Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water.” (Genesis 21:19) Her frantic desperation had blinded her to God’s provision. The well filled with water was there, but all she could see were her problems, until God opened her eyes.
That’s my prayer this year. I want God to open my eyes so that I can see, really see, all that He has lavishly provided. I want to fully appreciate the people in my life. I want to embrace blessings, rather than question loss. And I want to pray with my eyes wide open to see the answers.
I picked the vase up from the floor, and rather than put it away, I placed in on my desk as a reminder to pray. Seeing it there once again makes me smile.
Ronny may be reached at rmichel@rtconline.com.