November 9, 2005

The way you see things when your eyes are open for the first time. The way you fall in love with an idea that you never noticed before.

Today was an amazing day for this. It's amazing how we can walk around thousands of people every single day, and not realize that every person we pass is one of God's people. I mean, we know it, sure, but we don't actually realize it.

I was walking along today, in front of the library on campus and I looked up, and for the first time it hit me. All of the crowd of people coming from the opposite direction formed a very diverse crowd. This diverse crowd is made up of many different, wonderful children of God, each as deserving of God's love as the next. It's truly noticing something that's been there your entire life, only you were too blind to see it.

Something that bothered me alot last night was a discussion I had with a friend, that resulted in me telling them I would pray for them, and a response that they didn't need it anymore. It scares me to think what would make a person decide they no longer need prayer for them. I'm easily succeptible to things like this.

Again I see how God can shine through, even in a spiritual pit. I was very quickly becoming bogged down with the angst and ill will to be found at my job today, and I became frustrated. After a prayer, I decided to look up, just in time to see a good friend walk in the door and lighten the mood. After we talked for a while, things suddenly felt better and I knew that the fact that she had shown up wasn't just for no reason. That exact moment happened for a reason, and right when I was giving up hope for the day.

Following this, I had a conversation with a friend. I've talked about them before, and in the short time I've known them, I've seen God after their heart, and seen and been told how He is working in their life and showing His love to them. We had a long conversation tonight about where God shows up and His mystery and wonder, at which point I found that they are more and more willing to see that God is trying to love them, and has a purpose in everything. Quite a thing to see in another person's life, how He can work a life changing set of events.

In a random place where I saw God today, very early this morning I got a call from one of my best friends, whom I've been on the rocks with lately. We had a long discussion, and opened up, and we talked about our worries and fears about what's going on and what's changing, and we ended up closer and more honest than I perhaps recall us ever being. I still have to stand back and look in awe at how He can intercede and resolve sometimes just when you're about to give out in this life.

Why do we have an easier time criticizing our brothers in Christ than we do trying to help them in their walk? Is it just more noticeable that they have faults once they accept the Lord? Is our plank so small that we can finally see the splinter, or are we getting ahead of ourselves?