the view
We were driving to Cincinnati, Ohio last weekend......it was a somewhat peaceful stretch of our drive....the kids were watching/listening (with earphones) to a movie, Wes was daydreaming (while driving!), I had a cd in and I was staring out the window. We were on a small highway where the Ohio river was on our left and a mountain on our right. It was right around sunset and I was looking out over the river, watching the sun start to settle over the other side.....it's an amazing sight and I'm in silent awe for a moment. Then I start to think how cool it would be to see that view every evening....as the idea started to grow, I panned across the highway to the right side, the mountain side, with the plan to pick a spot where I would build my house so that I could look at that view every day.....how niave of me to think I was the first one to come up with that idea! As I scanned the mountain ridge, there were a dozen homes already there, each perfectly situated to be able to see the colors of the sunset reflecting off the river....what an amazing view they must have! And to make it even easier for them, each west facing side of the homes was made almost entirely of glass....obviously, the view was one of the most important reasons for building their homes up there. I spent a couple seconds being slightly jealous, thinking of how I would spend my evenings sitting in a cozy recliner with a good book, looking out over the river.....how wonderful that would be to end each day with a better than life view of the world......then, I started judging the people living in those houses, accusing them of walking by that view many times a day, without pausing to take it in.....running around doing meaningless tasks, consumed with trivial details, completely missing the beauty that is right in front of them......I was sure that many of them probably even keep the curtains drawn, having forgotten that there is even a view out there! Silly people, what a waste......Well, I'm not sure if you can see it coming, but I was quickly convicted of my judgement and was equally quick to see how similar I sometimes live my life.....although I do have a wonderful sunset view from my mountain, that is not the view that I was reminded of in my conviction......it was more about the beauty the Lord has put right in my surroundings that I sometimes miss.....things I overlook on a daily basis because I get caught up with the meaningless details of life: is my house clean enough?, am I working out enough?, is everyone please with my performance/responsibilities?, etc......all the while, I sometimes miss the beautiful view the Lord has place right in front of me: my children laughing hysterically, the flowers growning along the white fence in the backyard, the note from a friend sticking out of my Bible......how often I overlook things in an effort to make sure everything is 'just right'....silly me...what a waste...
Lord, thank you for something simple like a sunset on a mundane drive out of town...thank you for pulling my eyes to the mountain top, for reminding me of the beautiful 'sunset' views you put in my line of sight every day.....
help me to appreciate them more, help me to pause and reflect, help me draw closer to You because of them.......
help me to open the curtains and drink in the gift of your 'Sonset' every day....
me
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