SEE the Beauty!

I wear contact lenses. I have worn them for over 46 years and I absolutely love them. I hate wearing my glasses, always have and probably always will. But, right now, I am wearing my glasses; definitely not by choice! 

I have a condition called dry eye. Happens to most people as they enter into their "golden years!" However, most people can manage it fine with over-the-counter eye drops, but for people like me, who want to continue to wear their contact lenses, the solution isn't always that easy.

So, anyway, for almost 2 weeks now, I've been wearing my glasses most of the day. I need to rehydrate my eyes, the doctor says. Some days I can manage to wear my contacts up to 6 1/2 hours, some days, not at all. I am putting drops in my eyes several times a day and some special drops at nighttime.

As I often do when something out of the ordinary befalls me, I've been talking to the Lord about this and asking Him, "What do I need to learn from this, Lord? What do I need to see from this?"

I love the creative ways He uses to answer me.

Last week I had gone to the gym and was returning home, walking quickly down my walkway, as I often do, because I am usually a woman on a mission and often in a hurry. As I started to walk up my steps, all of a sudden I was "arrested" by the beauty I saw, right by my stairway!

Exactly at that moment, God spoke - "SEE the beauty,"  Wow! It was breathtaking! And I almost missed it!

How many times do I walk up and down those stairs in the course of the day and just fly right by the flowers and plants I have there, never stopping to take the time to really SEE them?!

More importantly, what else do I walk by and not SEE? WHO do I walk by and not SEE?

Do I have "spiritually dry eyes?" 

Is the Lord trying to show me something that I am not seeing?

What do I use my eyes to see?

Is it something that's good for me to see or should I take a pass?

Today I had all kinds of errands listed on my "To-Do" list - hit the gym, dentist appointment, gas up car, grocery store, Lowe's, Costco, Staples, BBB, hospital for blood work and it goes on and on. Instead, after the dentist appointment, I decided to chuck it all and take some of my grand kids to the beach.

We had a wonderful day! I saw the beauty in their faces as they swam and played at the beach and I felt the joy they brought to me.

I think it's all about taking the time; making the time to do what's most important. Slow down and see the beauty; slow down and experience the beauty! It's all around us; it's all around me. I need to open my eyes and SEE it!