Fix Your Eyes

The view out my window is beautiful these days. The grass is starting to green up, the buds on the trees are beginning to shoot out in their full glory, birds are singing, and that hoot owl outside my bedroom window wakes me up nearly every morning, ushering out the night and welcoming the dawn of a brand new day. I love spring. Everything cold and dead comes alive again and watching the transformation is always a wonderful treat for me.

But, like everything else, spring comes and goes quickly, so I really try to pay attention to it. My favorite part of the transformation process is watching my fruitless crabapple tree go from bare branches to green, leafy buds, then to pink flowery buds, and finally, to a brilliant, white snowball of flowers. This transformation always happens around Easter time and it fills me with great expectation, hope, and wide eyes for what’s to come next.

But, how often do we fear transformation? If “change is good” why can it be so scary at times? I was reading Malachi 3:6 today which says, “I the Lord do not change.” This gave me pause as I reflected on the not-so-great times in my life when I was feeling helpless, hopeless, afraid, and unsure. We all go through these times in our lives, but it is then that we need to fix our eyes on God. He is ever-present, never-changing, always near.

When I find myself in times of uncertainty, I have to remember that He is unchanging – my rock – the stable center that I desperately need when things feel like they are out of control. I fix my eyes on Him. In His splendor, God gives us the reassurance that He is walking with us, leading us through our problems and not around them, and taking us by the hand so that we can be stronger people for having done so.

One way I’ve found to be most helpful in “fixing my eyes” on Him is to spend a little time in nature. Gaze at the mountains, feel the sun on your skin, take a walk in the park, breathe in fresh air, and during this time of year, notice the daily changes He's bringing about. He is in all of these things, and when we immerse ourselves in His Divine love, we are given the assurance that our springtime is near, that He is omnipresent in our lives, and that our cold, barren branches will soon be brilliant and white. Let it unfold.

The Connection

In the busy-ness of raising a family, we may overlook the things we do to create “connections” with our children. I’m talking about those special, seemingly insignificant moments that we share as a family unit. It is these things, which over time, create an unbreakable bond. Playing cards as a family, having a joke that only we know about, making a special meal, gathering for prayer. I’ve noticed that it is these things that keep us together as a family, even though our children are growing up, and with each day, are learning to create lives of their own. Kids crave a sense of belonging, and they cling to the special moments that we fashion with them as they are growing up. That’s what keeps us together.
One of the connections we have as a family is homemade pizza night. Tom has perfected a pizza dough and sauce recipe that could win awards, and whenever Kenzie comes home from school for the weekend, she asks for Dad’s famous pizza. Although the deliciousness alone might lead you to understand her desire for pizza night . . . I know it’s something else altogether. Everyone watches with anticipation as the dough rises and the ingredients for the sauce get chopped up. Then, it’s time for everyone to make their own pizza . . . that’s when the fun begins. Unique dough shapes are created, cheese-stuffed crusts are formed, and toppings are added to personal tastes. Usually, the music is up in the background, and the dogs are at our feet, waiting for the tiniest morsel to be dropped. It’s just our thing. And, I think it’s something that we’ll always have, even when our kids have kids. It’s one of the special things we do together as a family unit. It is ours.
What are the special moments you’re creating with your family today? Know that it’s these things that you’ll keep coming back to, and that will keep them coming back to you. A unique connection that can’t be broken.