Look OUT! (a PINK Tuesday post)
Image by mhaithaca via Flickr
I can be a bundle of nervous energy at times (I know, I know… excessive coffee consumption doesn’t help).
I can seemingly curl up into a little ball of my own mental activity, focusing solely on what’s happening inside my head.
This is where God found me two weeks ago, sitting in the window seat of a plane bound for Georgia. Somewhere over Mississippi or maybe Alabama, I found myself praying intensely about the things pressing into my head – family, ministry, the activities of the week ahead – and I remember clearly asking God to mess with me this week. Surprise me with His presence.
I nearly jumped when, no sooner had I prayed those words, His voice in my head said:
“Brita. You’ve got to look out the window. I’m out there, too.“
Being literal (and more than a bit startled by the swift and holy response), I turned to look out over the wing of the plane. As I slowly realized that I’d been in this seat for nearly three hours and hadn’t actually looked outside until now, I also understood what God’s words were meant to say:
“Brita. You’ve got to look outside of yourself. Open your eyes! Look around you! I am out there – in them – too.”
The result was an almost immediate cessation of my self-focused prayers as I recognized how easily I can get stuck inside my head. Life is passing all around me – GOD is passing all around me! – and I am often so busy with thoughts of details and to-do lists that I miss Him.
He’s not just in here, in my head and in my heart. He’s out there, too. In the world around the tiny little seat I’m buckled into. And He wants me to see Him everywhere!
As the plane began to descend over Atlanta, my eyes remained fixed outside and were treated to the most amazing display of rich, autumn colors in the trees that were only just beginning to turn. Colors so varied and yet so perfectly coordinated, as if Someone had…
Well, Someone HAD.
I may be speaking out of turn, but I believe some of you are in desperate need of a wake-up call (and I clearly speak from recent experience). When our focus turns inward, implosion is more than often the ugly result. And everyone nearby is going to know when that bomb stops ticking.
The holiday season is often the worst time for those of us who tend to retreat into ourselves, when what we really need most is to step out in faith, seeking God in the people and places and circumstances all around us. I hope you’ll consider this your personal invitation to take time each day during Advent (start TODAY!) to seek Jesus on the Pink Shoes Ministries’ Trek to the Manger! Click here to start your journey (and keep your focus) during the certain craziness of the days and weeks ahead:
Sisters – you’ve got to look out the window!
And when you do, well… look OUT! What you see is what you’ll get, and I promise you’ll see our God when you seek Him with all your might!
Thank you for this Tuesday morning inspiration and reminder to look ‘outside.’ 🙂
I don’t know about you, Beth, but I can use ALL of the inspiration and reminders I can get these days 🙂 Thanks for looking for yourself in this post!
What an amazing message and so true, especially during this time of year where it sometimes turns hectic. I know for myself I do much often “escape” within myself as I want a break from the chaos around me. This is so helpful in knowing that I need to be away of HIS presence and be aware of all of the blessings He has put around me. I had an awe moment the other night too when I looked out my bedroom/patio door. The colors of blue light coming through the leaf covered trees, the clouds I could see moving, and the colors in the sky from the sunset. It took my breath away. I had to go and get my camera. I took some pictures and then watched it for a few minutes more. I know that that was a moment that you had and I need to be aware of those “tiny” miracle that God places around me all the time. Thanks Brita and God bless! 🙂