LOOK.

Pam Otto, GFC Lutz

A few weeks ago, I spent a couple of days at one of my favorite beaches, walking the long strip of sand that lends itself to slowing down and having deep conversations with God. Somehow, the waves splashing on my feet and the smooth sand seems to help me hear God a bit louder, or see Him a bit clearer.

While walking and praying one morning, I searched for the perfect seashell, sand dollar, or something interesting that often washes up on shore. As I was wading in the water, I looked ahead and saw a large shell that had washed up, waiting for me to add to my collection. Once I got closer, I noticed it wasn’t a shell, but rather someone’s glasses…actually someone’s nice prescription sunglasses. (Yes, I tried them on but couldn’t see out of the thick lenses. ;)) I felt bad for the person who lost their glasses in the wild waves of the day before, so I set them aside in case they came back to search for them. I thought how frustrating it would be to lose something of value and to have fuzzy vision or be unable to see clearly or notice the little things.

As I continued on my walk, God reminded me of my earlier prayer, which was to see Him, hear Him and take notice of what He had for me. I wanted Him to write words in the sky, give me a dream or vision, or do something big and noticeable so I could be sure it was from Him. When I saw the glasses, God gently nudged my heart and said that I didn’t need special prescription glasses to see Him, or big writing in the sky to confirm His presence. In order to see Him clearly, I just needed to look. Look around, take notice of His creation, look at the sunrise, nature, people and look for Him in His Word. Just keep looking, keep noticing.

Psalm 19:1 “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.”
God is omni-present; everywhere! We don’t need a special lens to correct our vision to see more of God… We just need to look for Him in the everyday moments, often noticing the little things. He is faithful and present and wants to meet each of us right where we are. Are we noticing Him? Just keep looking…He’s as close as the air we breathe!

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13 Have you noticed God speaking to you through nature? Are you looking for Him?