Do you look for it? Can you find it? Have you really searched? I’m sure it is there…
Years ago, the “Where’s Waldo” books and puzzles were everywhere. The goal was to see if you could find where Waldo was in the picture…hidden, in plain view. It is interesting how once I found him, I thought about how he was right before my eyes the entire time, but was a struggle to find initially. Things are right before us, but we miss them. As a kid, I would look in the cabinet for a snack. I knew the snack was there…I knew exactly what I wanted…my mouth watered for it…but I just couldn’t find it. My mom would tell me where it was and still…nothing. She would walk into the kitchen, pick it right up…and say, “if it was a snake, it would have bit you.” Yep…right before me, but missed.
I find that some days life is like that. There are gifts in each day…little bits of joy, excitement…little reminders of God’s presence. They are always there. It can be in the smile of a stranger, in the hello of a friend, in the text of someone special, or simply in the rise of the sun. But some days, it is a struggle to find it. It is difficult enough just to get out of bed and find my way to the coffee maker…the magic juice that helps my eyes to open and my brain to function. When the weather is dreary, cold, and by my estimation…just miserable…I find it an accomplishment to have made it through the day. Yet, just simply “making it” through the day is “wasting it” through the day. This day, this moment has a gift that is right before us…yet often hidden in plain sight. We don’t see it because to see it might mean we quit whining and move out of our pity party to see what God has for us. It might mean that we choose to see the sun in the love of another. It might just mean we open our hearts and minds to see what is around us…opportunities and blessings.
Today, I pray that we find the gifts in today….They are there…God has not forgotten us…God has not abandoned us…the beauty of the day is right before us. The joy is even found at…yep, even found at work. It is found in the small, little moments that can turn a day around. Even on the most challenging days, there is a glimmer of hope…it is there…it just may be hidden right in plain sight. Today…where is God in your life? He’s there…you just have to look. He might surprise you if you take the time to see.
SEEING THE EXTRAORDINARY 