Father's Eyes

"I may not be every mother's dream for her little girl. And my face may not grace the mind of everyone in the world. But that's alright as long as I can have one wish, I pray. When people look inside my life, I wanna hear them say, she's got her Father's eyes." - Amy Grant

This week brought me to a place that was unexpected.  A place that was out of my comfort zone.  Oddly enough, this strange occurrence happened Tuesday, the day after my Monday night Bible study group.  We just started studying the book of Jonah. Towards the end of the evening, we talked about life getting interrupted. We generally pass this off or overlook why the interruption happened. What we should be doing is taking the time to think about it.  Was it just a phone call that came at a bad time for us, or was it a phone call that came with someone on the other end really needing our help? Did you pick up the phone or hit the ignore button?  Maybe God put someone on your mind. Did you bother to follow up with that person or say 'I'll deal with them when I have the time?'

I guess you could say the study really got me thinking and I didn't even realize I what I was doing on Tuesday until after I did it.  The week before last, my Math class was canceled because our instructor's mother was rushed to ICU.  It was last minute and he couldn't find anyone to take over his class.  At first, I thought, 'well at least I won't feel badly I had to miss class because of being sick.' Horrible, right?  Yeah, God thought so, too, and He let me know that was not the right attitude to have.  So I emailed my professor and let him know I would be praying for his mother.  God really convicted me of not having His eyes, of not seeing that someone needed to be cared for, prayed for. Our professor wasn't there for the next class that week either but did have someone to take over for him.  By this last Tuesday, he was back in class.  I'd been diligently praying for my instructor and his mother the whole week.  At the end of class, I walked over to him and asked him about his mother (I never do this).  He told me she'd had a severe stroke but thankfully was out of ICU.  I told him I was sorry and that I'd continue to pray.  I patted him on the shoulder (also something I would never do) and he looked me directly in the eyes.  His voice cracked as he said, 'thank you, I really appreciate that.'

As I walked down the stairs to my car, I quietly said my own thank you to God for giving me His eyes for that moment.  I truly believe without God, I never would have approached that man, my professor.  I would have let the fear and shyness take over and never said a word. But with God in control, anything is possible. He showed me that this week and I am forever grateful. I pray that He will continue to show me more.  I know for this to happen, I continually have give Him complete control over my life.  Easier said than done for me. I can be a control freak so learning to let go is difficult.  After the experience this week, I want people to know me for having my Father's eyes. Anything else doesn't come close to how wonderful that would be.

"And when you're called to stand and say just what you saw in me, more than anything I know, I wan't your words to be, she had her Father's eyes, her Father's eyes. Eyes that found the good in things, when good was not around. Eyes that found the source of help, when help would not be found. Eyes full of compassion, seein' every pain. Knowin' what you're going through and feelin' it the same." - Amy Grant