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.

Merry Christmas

Although I try not to get caught up in the shopping and hectic pace of the days that precede Christmas, sometimes it happens. My mind reels, What in the world will I buy Victoria? By the time I finish decorating for Christmas, it will be time to pick it all up again. Will the only thing that Geoff requested be delivered in time? Does my husband really want to know how much I’ve spent?
At times like these, I like to sit back and focus, really focus, on what happened during the months that preceded the very first Christmas. Life must have looked pretty good to Mary before the angel’s visit. Her engagement to Joseph was probably the fulfillment of her dream. Then the Holy Spirit surrounded her, the power of God overshadowed her, and Jesus, the Word in flesh, was implanted in her. Her dream had exploded! The Word inside of her caused her to grow (not just physically), changed her plans, and challenged the thinking of those with whom she was in contact.
A few months later, while most of the world was sleeping, she brought forth Jesus, Who is the Word, the Light, the Life. The One Who had already changed her was about to shake the community, and eventually the world.
How exciting it is to be a Christian today. We have access to the presence of the Holy Spirit and the power of God. In addition, I believe that it is our responsibility to fill our hearts with the Word of God. The Word will change us, and as it comes forth from us, in word and deed, it will wake people up, affecting not just the community, but the world.
Merry Christmas!