The Clearing – Devotion 182 – SEEING THE EXTRAORDINARY

I woke up as usual, rolled out of bed and picked up my phone. It wasn’t to look at social media or check messages. I needed to know the weather before I headed out the door for my morning run/walk. The temp looked fine, just what I expected. But then those 3 little letters appeared again – FOG. Really? I get fog twice in one week. I thought that maybe it was a mistake but prepared for it anyway. I stepped out the door and sure enough, fog. I mentally wrapped my mind around running in the fog again and moved forward. It would be fine. The first mile was the normal – thick fog with no indication of it letting up. But soon after, there was a clearing.

It happened so quickly I almost didn’t realize it. I could, all of a sudden, see around me. The cars could see me. I was almost shocked at how I had hit a clearing. I looked up and noticed I could see the stars and constellations. As it turned out, it was actually an absolutely beautiful morning with stars shining bright. I just didn’t know it because the fog around me was so thick. It took a clearing for me to realize what was just beyond the fog.

Yesterday, I watched a story about a woman that was changing lives. She wasn’t famous. Most people had never heard of her. She was in a small, remote village where she was most happy. She was, though, pretty incredible. What was she doing? She was finding the good in young people and encouraging them. It really was this simple. If a child thought they were bad at math, she showed them where they could succeed. If they were struggling in any area, she wanted them to see all they were capable of accomplishing. She simply tried to find the good in them all. Everyone she encountered, it was a search for the good. That’s it. And that’s all it took. She was changing lives. For her, the good was always there, she just needed to look beyond what everyone else said and what they felt about themselves. She needed to find the clearing. It might not be at first sight, but it was there. She wanted to keep moving through the fog so she could show others the stars. They were there, she knew it. She just had to keep moving until she reached the clearing.

There is so much we miss because we are held in the fog by our own thoughts and judgments. The clearing is just ahead but we might not even notice if we just focus on where we are right now. God has given us so much – we need to see what he sees. It might change others. It might change us. The clearing is beautiful – keep moving until you reach it.

Focus Scripture:

Psalm 147:3-5

³He heals the brokenhearted,
    and binds up their wounds.
⁴He determines the number of the stars;
    he gives to all of them their names.
⁵Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
    his understanding is beyond measure.