7 October 2020

It’s school holidays and some of the grandchildren I don’t get to see on a regular basis came and visited. Three of the older girls, aged 10, 9 and 6 were spending the whole day with me. We were going to catch up with some of the younger cousins at a park just after lunch, after I had a few photos taken for some marketing we were doing for work.

Last time we got some photos done I had done my own hair and makeup and it did not quite turn out as well as we had planned. I need to wear glasses most of the time now to read, to do my makeup, to do the dishes, or I don’t see things as well as I used to.

For example, in regard to the dishes when I don’t wear my glasses I don’t see that a dish or a spoon may still be a little dirty and mistakenly put it on the dishrack ready to be dried. When pointed out to me and I put my glasses on, I can definitely see the food still on the utensil.

Thank goodness I have loving honest daughters who share with me my faux pas.

So in regards to my makeup last time, I ended up having “Panda” eyes because I couldn’t see that the eyeliner was smudged and that my hair had a cow-lick all down one side when I turned my head. So, this time I went and got my hair washed and blow-dried. Oh, what a lovely luxury.

I was hoping that me not relying on just my eyes, but others eyesight would mean that we get a few good photos. I was practically getting other’s eyes plus the photographer to SEE the best shots.

It made me think what do I truly see? 

I looked at the youngest grandson, Emmett, climbing the tree. Full of adventure and yelling at the top of his lungs, “Look at me Mum, I’m on the paper tree!” I laughed. He was so much like his Father, my Son Joel at the age of 2. He could never speak at normal volume. And the trees bark looked like pages, paper in a story book.

Then I looked over to Mackenzie who is 4, she was finding it difficult to climb the tree but did not want any help.

Freddie, the mad footballer at 5, was running from one play equipment to the next, trying to make sure nothing got missed. Just the other night he came sobbing to his Mum in the kitchen because his favourite football team had just lost by 1 point. He was inconsolable. The team was no longer in the finals. So, who would he go for now? He could not imagine going for any other team. The tears and hiccups flowed.

Oh to see through their innocent eyes.

Emmett saw the world as a place to explore. He saw his family and people in his life as stable, safe, loving.

Mackenzie was starting to push her independence amidst the shyness that is part of her personality.

While the older girls were helping the little ones play. One was taking the sand out of the little one’s shoes.  One was even holding the 5-month-old cousin Abigail and making her laugh.

Again, I asked myself what do I see?

And then the deeper question – What do I see with spiritual eyes? With eyes of Faith?

Looking at the different children, all different ages and stages of life, I reflected that we all are at different stages of our spiritual Life. This is not dependant upon age but hopefully as we are getting older, we are getting wiser.

Am I like Emmett yelling at God at the top of my lungs because I need someone to take note of me? I need to find my own voice in God’s Family. Maybe I don’t know I’m yelling at full volume and need to be taught it is not necessary.

Am I trying to feel I am grown up like Mackenzie? Am I doing it by myself but actually need help to climb the tree, even to get the first leg up? Is someone going to laugh at me because I can’t do it by myself? God won’t. Am I that independent that I don’t need God?

Am I inconsolable like Freddie because my plans for my life, for my family, for my friends, for my football team don’t go the way I want them to?

Am I like the older girls who now look out for the younger ones? Helping others. Loving others. Putting their needs first?

Often, many of Jesus’ stories – The Parables – were shared in such a way that even the young followers of Jesus could get the meaning. Sometimes though the disciples would afterwards ask Jesus to explain to them the meanings (for they even did not get it).

¹⁰ The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”

¹¹ He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. …

¹⁵ For this people’s heart has become calloused;
    they hardly hear with their ears,
    and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
    hear with their ears,
    understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’^[a]

¹⁶ But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.

Matthew 13:10-11, 15-16 NIV

Are our eyes seeing Him better? Are our eyes seeing him in our everyday lives? Or have our hearts become dry, calloused so our eyes do not see anymore? Are we seeing Him more as we follow and as we read about Jesus in the bible? As we spend time with Him, do we see Him in a different light, a new light, an ever-developing, ever-deepening light?

May these jottings from my journal inspire you to believe in and fall in love with Christ- the hope of the world, as stated in Jeremiah 17:7, ‘Blessed is the man who believes and trusts in and relies on the Lord and whose hope and confident expectation is the Lord!’

Love

Rosemary

Every week groups of ladies meet together to chat about the things I raise in my weekly blog post and to chat about life in general. We call these ‘Heart Connect’ groups. If you would like more information please click HERE.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

What do you see? Do you see with eyes of faith?

Do you see Him in the everyday of your life? Or has your heart become dry so you can no longer see Him?

What can you do to see and trust Him better?