God used this time of undivided attention to whisper his thoughts to me. I came to God seeking answers and instead was given the impulse to get down close to the ground to look at a piece of sea weed.
From my vantage point above, it looked like a bunch of barren sticks sitting in the water. As I knelt down to really look at it closely, these sticks came to life with each individual branch gleaming from the setting sun. I was amazed to see how the perspective changed the way I saw those sea branches.
It was as if someone whispered in my ear, "perspective changes everything." So I asked God, "what perspective should I be looking at these decisions I have to make? His answer was simply, "Mine."
I've been looking at things from one angle. It was a narrow point of view, and one that did not include beauty in it. I can become blinded to everything and just see things straight up the way they are, at least from my one perspective. I've been looking at the opportunities that have been unfolding for this summer, and instead of seeing God's hand at work, I've been asking myself, how will I provide?
Of course the answer for my question was also being answered by God in the very moment, when a flock of seagulls landed in the surf.
Look at the birds. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren't you far more valuable to him than they are?
- Matthew 6:26
How quick I am to forget His provision in my life!
I sat on a sand dune to watch the sun slowly sink down into the horizon. I said to myself, "wow, that sky is amazing!" As soon as I thought it, God spoke to me again, "The beauty is not coming from the sky itself, it's coming from the Sun. It's the Sun's reflection on the clouds that cause the sky to be so beautiful. The "messier" the sky the sky is with clouds, the prettier the sunset ends up being.
I broke down with the realization that I am a flawed person. All I have as an offering to Christ is my messy life, but he uses that very same mess and makes it into something good to reflect His glory, the glory of His SON!
God uses our failures, mess, and often the ugliness in our lives to bring His beauty into the world. He asks that we give all of ourselves, withholding nothing, and with that, he transforms us into something beautiful.
When we can see only the mess, he whispers to us, "Perspective is everything. I want you to see your life through my eyes."
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