Look Beyond and Rejoice

“O satisfy us in the morning with Your lovingkindness that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.”         Psalm 90:14   NASB95

There are more nearsighted people in New York City than in any other city. The reason that ophthalmologists have booming practices in The Big Apple is because people are down among the sky scrapers -- hemmed in by the walls of high buildings – which, in turn, limit their field of vision. For many, the only opportunity for distant vision is to look up at the sky, which very few do. Thus, the constant use of the eyes for short distances tends for nearsightedness. In the same way, our eyes can be so focused on the immediate that we lose sight of the ultimate.

Architect Frank Lloyd Wright once told of an incident that may have seemed insignificant at the time, but had a profound influence on the rest of his life. The winter he was nine, he went walking across a snow-covered field with his reserved, no-nonsense uncle. As the two of them reached the far end of the field, his uncle stopped him. He pointed out his own tracks in the snow, straight and true as an arrow’s flight. Young Frank’s tracks were meandering all over the field. “Notice how your tracks wander aimlessly from the fence, to the cattle, to the woods, and back again?” his uncle remarked. “And see how my tracks aim directly to my goal? There is an important lesson in that.”

Years later the world-famous architect liked to tell how this experience had greatly contributed to his philosophy in life. “I determined right then,” he’d say with a twinkle in his eye, “not to miss most things in life, as my uncle had.”

I love Psalm 90:14!  The person who is able to be happy in the knowledge that Christ’s love is waiting for him each morning when he gets out of bed will be able to enjoy all the little things in daily life. He doesn’t need to seek the next emotional “high” of a big thing, while suffering in the doldrums of the ordinary things. Such a person can see beyond the present troubles, sing for joy, be glad today, and rejoice in all the tomorrows.

Look beyond the immediate, and enjoy the beauty of life. Happy New Year!
                                                                                     
Love,
Pastor Larry