Seeing with God's Eyes

Last week my husband and I both underwent a routine medical screening test that involved our eating a restricted diet for 5 days. (We did it at the same time so as to minimize the meal-planning inconvenience.) We both found the restricted diet very annoying: we could still eat full meals, but we couldn't always have everything that we liked, and we had to postpone our regular Friday night pizza because we couldn't have some of the ingredients. Can you think of anything much worse than that? (Sarcasm intended.)

When we were done, during my nightly prayer time, I thanked God that it was over, even though I knew that was a pretty trivial thing to be thankful for. And then God spoke back to me and made me realize what I should REALLY be thankful for. When I say he spoke back, I don't mean I heard a voice or anything like that. But it was like our senior pastor Scott Dudley describes it: thoughts that are like our own thoughts but yet are not our thoughts. That's what came to me. And here's what God reminded me of.

Instead of thanking God that I didn't have to be on the annoying restricted diet any more, there were other things that I needed to thank him for, and for which I truly am grateful. First, I live in a country where there is such great medical care, that I have screening tests available to me so that I can prevent dangerous illnesses such as various types of cancer. If I lived, say, in the Congo, I might not be able to have a test like this and would run more risk of serious disease. Second, I have plenty of food to eat; I am not in danger of starving, as are so many of the world's poor people. Third, I have such a diverse selection of food at my disposal, that I can vary my diet if I need to restrict it, and when I'm done with the restricted diet, I can go back to eating food that I enjoy. Many people around the world have to eat whatever they can get. I get to choose what tastes good to me. And last, the screening test had a good result; I'm not at risk at this time.

It really put the whole thing in perspective for me. When I looked at it with God's eyes, I saw that what had been annoying to me was actually a blessing, and that there were other blessings that I had failed to notice. It showed me that praying is something I need to do more often, if only to ask God throughout the day to help me to see with his eyes. And when I see with his eyes, the result that I want going forward is that it will lead me to act in ways that accord with his will, including doing more to help those who do not have the food and medical care that I have.

A Dog's Attitude

Friday was a good day: I got the magenta tray at the cafeteria.

The cafeteria in our building at work has lots of gray and yellow trays, some brown ones, and a few blue ones, but there is only one magenta tray. Since pink is my favorite color, I always hope that I will get that tray, and when I do, I really enjoy it.

Maybe if you're reading this, you're thinking, "What's the big deal about what color your cafeteria tray is?" True, it's not a big deal. But I like to take pleasure in all sorts of little things. Savoring them makes my day more enjoyable.

The other day I once again came across a line in The Fellowship of the Ring that I really like. Gandalf the wizard has just told the hobbit Sam that he is going to accompany Frodo on his journey, which means that Sam will get to see Elves, something he's always longed to do.

"Me, sir!" cried Sam, springing up like a dog invited for a walk.

I love the image because it immediately conveys a great deal of excitement. Yet when we think about it, what are dogs so excited about? Just a walk! But they get a great deal of pleasure out of it.

My dog Hana waits every morning for me to sit down with my bowl of cereal, because she knows I will give her two pieces of it. It's only two pieces of cereal, usually Cheerios, so not a big deal, but to her it's a very happy moment.

Dogs are optimists, too. Every time I prepare a meal, Hana thinks, despite the mountain of previous experience, that this time, maybe the meal is going to be for her. And her tail is almost always ready to wag; she expects good things out of life.

I think that we can learn a lot from dogs' attitude. With God as our father, we can expect good things out of life, too. That's not to say that everything will always be rosy. But we can know that he is with us and will see us through any hard times. I found this out a year ago as I was going through cancer. God didn't make the cancer magically disappear, but he did sustain me as I underwent surgery, chemo, and radiation. I knew that in the long run, whatever the prognosis (mine ended up being good), God was going to be there in the end.

And then there were those little things, like the magenta cafeteria tray. God put a lot of them in my life, and when I looked for them, I found them. Things like the kindness of fellow co-workers, or a daffodil that the radiation oncology center gave me. It made a big difference to how I experienced a year of cancer treatments. I could have looked for the unpleasant, difficult things, or I could have just not looked for anything. But instead I looked for the little fun or nice things, and they were there to be found, and so my days were more pleasant and enjoyable than they might otherwise have been.

What's more, because I found those little good things, I was able to give thanks to God. I knew he was there helping me get through a bad time. In fact, I felt his presence more closely during that cancer year than I ever had before. That in itself brought joy to me beyond what I can describe.

I know it sounds silly to say I had a good day because I got the magenta tray at the cafeteria. But I have a fun life. And a lot of it is because I take pleasure in the little things.