We tend to forget things which we cannot see. Those things which remain hidden from our everyday vision can be misplaced in the rhythm of our day. This begins early for most of us. We often tell kids to wash behind their ears. We give them the instruction because they cannot see behind their ears and, therefore, there is no need to wash what cannot be seen. I can only imagine how ludicrous it must seem to wash behind your ears when there doesn’t even seem to be any possibility of anything collecting where we cannot even see. But, here we are, washing behind our ears.
When things are not always obvious, when they are not screaming for our attention, we put them away. They are out of sight, out of mind. That’s all well and good until those things which we have displaced all come tumbling down. There is dirt behind our ears and now we have a problem. The extra baggage we have put away begins to overload our closets and it all collapses under the weight of it all. It gets messy at some point. We shove things into the recesses only to have them come back with vengeance because of neglect.
For me, one of the most important reminders is not to forget God. I understand this statement seems absolutely ridiculous. Who would forget God? How could anyone forget the Creator? What does that even mean? We can easily look at a sunrise and see a sunrise. We can live with some level of gratefulness without actually being grateful to the Giver or Creator. We can go through our day knowing that God is somewhere, but not acknowledging he is actually with us. We can push God into the recesses of our minds without any notice at all. We do this until we need him. Then we scramble and wonder where God has been all along. We get frustrated that God hasn’t been more responsive. Why isn’t he at my beckoned call? And all along, it was us – we pushed him far enough where we didn’t even recognize his presence.
Today, maybe we begin to give thanks to the Creator, the Giver of Life. Maybe we begin to acknowledge his presence. Maybe we begin to search for where he is at work. Maybe we see him among our neighbors. Maybe we realize he has been with us all along – if only we pay attention.
Awaken us, Lord, to your goodness. May we never put you out of our minds simply because we do not have the sight to see you. Open our eyes, Lord.
Focus Scripture:
Psalm 148:13
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted;
his glory is above earth and heaven.
Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery. Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery
SEEING THE EXTRAORDINARY 