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Yesterday the kids and I went to Pine Bluff to meet a friend for lunch. One of our favorite roads constitutes a portion of the journey from here to there – the road that goes over the Arkansas River where there is a lock system.
We’ve driven over the “lock bridge,” as we call it, many times. But, only once before has there been a barge in the lock as we’ve driven by, and it was located such that the kids couldn’t really see it. Yesterday, though, there was a barge in an awesome location for us to see!
I pointed it out to the kids, and the girls excitedly looked and saw the barge awaiting it’s turn to move from one chamber to the next. Steven, however, complained because he couldn’t see it. I knew his seat was high enough, so I couldn’t figure out why he couldn’t see. I glanced briefly in the rearview mirror to find that, instead of looking down into the river, he was looking off into the tree line. I kept telling him to look down on the river, my instruction growing more urgent the further we progressed across the bridge, but he never would do it. He kept looking up and off into the treeline.
Knowing how rare it is to be crossing the bridge at just the right time to see a barge, I was both frustrated and disappointed that Steven didn’t see it. He loves such things, and I so wanted him to get the chance to experience the excitement the girls and I enjoyed. But, he missed it, and it saddened me.
It also made me think. How much does God hunger for us to not only see, but to experience? To live? And how often do we miss it because we won’t look in the right direction? We won’t heed His voice telling us exactly where our focus needs to be in order to experience the fullness of what lies right before our eyes. Of course, His instruction is to look to Him. Always. What do we miss because we’re looking at our circumstances or our loved ones instead of looking at Him?
Steven desired to see the barge in the lock, but he did not take action to follow through. As believers, we desire to live as much of the fullness of life in Christ as is possible here on this earth. Will we take the action required to realize that desire?
Not Quite Ordinary 