Through His eyes...

As most of you know my daughter, Amanda, is engaged. She is working on getting their affairs in order before getting married. We have been looking at houses for them to live in after they are married. She found this one, older house that she fell in love with. It makes me smile thinking about it…young love is full of possibilities, full of dreams, full of hope!

First, let me tell you a little of my first thoughts…the street and neighborhood the house is in is fine (my son and daughter in law lives a couple streets over). But this house is located near the fringe of where it looks like it goes downhill. You know what I mean…there are a row of houses where the yards are manicured and neat and clean and then that seems to fade into the houses and yards that look unkempt and messy. And this yard needs a lot of work. It has, as they call it “good bones” but has been left for so long that it is out of control. It is unique; it has a concrete circle with a flower bed in the middle in the center of the yard. As far as the trees…it looks like a jungle. There is a driveway (dirt) that comes around the side of the house; it would be nice if that were paved. The house itself has a nice front porch that wraps around but there is iron work missing. They added a room on the back that was done very well, the air is very old, the carport is falling off the house, there are some bricks missing from the stairs. The bottom line is the house does have character and could be very cute but would take a lot of work and I still question that end of the road.

Now, let me tell you what my daughter saw as we looked around. She was excited initially because it was close to her brother and sister…”when the two of us have babies they can grow up and play together. We can walk to each other’s homes and even take walks together during the day.” She saw no problem with the neighborhood. The first thing she spotted was the middle of the yard flower bed and was so excited. She started talking about how she could plant tulip bulbs all in the circle and add a bird feeder. She would have her own flower garden, a burst of color to be gazed upon from the front porch. She envisioned her children playing on the wrap around porch and wow!...when we had a couple days of rain they could still go outside! She could see herself with her children, her mama and daddy, and nieces and nephews sitting on the porch watching the babies play and sipping ice tea. She loved the driveway and the way it came around the side of the house…gives more of a front yard. Even the front window had cause for excitement. They were the kind that were big and low to the ground and as we peeked in to the living room…OMG what charm it had…arched doorways and even a fireplace! Through my daughter’s eyes this house was special, charming, unique, and she saw through it a future, hope, and a life full of happiness with the man she loves!

Am I being negative and is she being positive…naw…I’m being a mother with experience in life and she is being a young woman in love with her future ahead of her. This blog is not really about the house. Here is what I mean…Think over how you feel about people, your  job, and life. How do we view things on a day to day basis? Do you view the people in your life as being choked by a flower bed full of weeds? Can you not see the buds blooming in others?  And how about the job…do you view it as being at the wrong end of the road... nowhere else to go…full of stuff that is cluttering up your surroundings? You don’t have the prestige or status that you should have. Has your life lost its vision…do you view your marriage, your family, your relationships through a tiny window that is cracked and dirty? Do you view each day like that old air unit and carport..rusty, broken, and futile?

Let bring you a cool thought…my daughter saw this little house through eyes of hope, through a vision of potential, with a heart for the future. The same way God sees each on “For I have plans for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11. Not only does God have a plan for us, in that plan is hope and a future…the way Amanda saw her little home. God handcrafted each and every one of us; we are his vision! “Before I was born the Lord called me; from my birth he has made mention of my name.” Isaiah 49:1. Our potential is limitless because of our Father. God doesn’t see us as a mess of weeds, or dilapidated, or rusty and broken. Our Father sees us just like Amanda saw this little house…special, bright, full of hope and blessings for the future. God not only has a vision for us and sees our potential; he has planned and wants ALL good things for us. Again, we can and should look at each other, our lives and our circumstances through the Father’s eyes. If we view ourselves, others and our lives through His eyes we will see His vision, our potential and hope for the future! Listen to what he tell us in the book of Isaiah…Our God will send you rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich and plentiful. In that day your cattle will graze in broad meadows. The oxen and donkeys that work the soil will eat fodder and mash…streams of water will flow on every high mountain and every lofty hill. The moon will shine like the sun and the sunlight will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days. Isaiah 30:23-26.

Thank you, Lord, for Amanda’s vision of potential, hope and for her future. And thank you for the lesson you taught me through her…all praise and glory be yours!

“O lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago.”