Getting Around the Things of Life

By Kathryn C. Lang

Things get in the way – no matter how much I plan or how great my intentions – things find a way to get in the way. At least, that is how it seems. My life will be moving along with gusto. I will see the signs of confirmation all around me. The joy of it all will bubble over onto anyone that I encounter.

And then it isn’t.

One little thing pops up and all of those amazing and wonderful moments are lost. I struggle just to breathe - forget about moving forward. That one little thing manages to crush the enthusiasm under its tiny foot. The darkness closes in and I am left alone.

Only I’m not.

A song comes on to remind me that I am not alone. A friend calls unexpectedly just to let me know she is thinking about me. A letter arrives in the mail just to say hello. Suddenly, I catch a glimpse of that possibility that I was living in when it was joy driving the day instead of darkness hiding it.

Things get in the way – but I do not have to let them stay there. I can kick them to the side like a stick in the path. Things will try to darken my horizon – but I do not have to remain in the dark. I can see beyond the darkness to the dawn or beyond the storm to the rainbow.

And you? Do things get in your way?

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Kathryn C. Lang shares words of inspiration on her website www.kathrynlang.com. Join her there as she finds new ways to face down the storms, discover the rainbows and live in a river of peace.

A Grateful Pair Of Eyes

by Marvin Ferguson

Among all the components of the human body I think the eyes are most intriguing. And without them where would we be?

The coach always said to the hitter to keep his eye on the ball. Don't worry about the color of his eyes or hair. And so he grimaced staring at a ball hidden behind the pitcher's knee. Then, suddenly, like a bolt of lightening from out of nowhere it crossed the plate.

Traveling on the infield grass, a pair of eyes watched the ball as the shortstop scooped it up into his glove. Another pair of eyes watched while diving for a ball that escaped into left field.

In the movie "Trouble With The Curve" Clint Eastwood, hitting coach, started having problems with his vision. When baseball fans and players watched in awe at a called strike, even Clint Eastwood insisted that it was a strike. Yet his attorney daughter was amazed at how he could see it. His reply, "I heard it." And the viewers laughed.

Sitting in the waiting room I pondered the thought about my wife's cataract surgery recently. My mind was racing. How fortunate we are for God to give us the gift of sight.

But God always provides. The late Ray Charles, blind from his childhood, was a gifted piano player and singer. Ronnie Milsap, blind from birth, became a popular country singer.

On another note the Bible says to live more by faith and less by sight. From a different perspective our walk with God depends more on trust and faith than what we see or intellectualize.

And so I live with a grateful heart for the gift to see, and even more so that our faith doesn't depend on our sight.

20/20 Sunlight/Son-Light

The source is always the same, in degree, in size and in power, yet the effect on earth can be vastly different. 

Moments ago, the buds on the bush by my window glowed spring green, translucent as first light of the day shown through them.

Now their color deepens as the light moves from behind them to above.

The source of the light remains the same, but as the earth rotates, its effect on objects below is different.

Yesterday’s cloudless sky reflected my face clearly in the windowpane.  Today, there is just a thin misty vapor; no face, no reflection, no glowing leaves, only a grey fog drifting, and obscuring the unchanged light of the sun.

I consider and thank the Lord  for reminding me that though at times the twists and turns of life may cloud or blur my vision, His Son-Light is as certain, as strong and powerful, and even more unchanging than the sun.