Their fingerprints dot the windows on the main floor and the glass cleaner comes out more often than before self-isolation. My grandkids, ages 3 and 4, press their flesh up against the window to see as if to reach out with not only their hands but whole bodies. They watch for the elderly man with the cane pass by each morning and wait for the runner with the pink hat and the mom with the double stroller battling the hill with the large brown dog. Before COVID-19, they were used to spending much of their time on the other side of the glass with a well-planned weekly schedule.
I, too, have my body pressed against the door wanting to be on the other side and back to my well-planned life. As an extrovert, I mostly want my relationships back in the way I had them. I miss my friends, huddled over a cup of tea, speaking in hushed tones or laughing out loud as we hug each other.
But this time is giving me pause in the way I see others in my life. The uncertainty we are carrying is coming out in ways that can’t as easily be hidden. Frankly, I’m having a harder time showing up each day as my best self in a way people tend to see me.
This is probably happening to you also in one way or another. So here is what I hope you will take away from my words today.
In the book of Ephesians, Paul pens a prayer for his people that God would open the eyes of their hearts to see things through an eternal lens. We need that same reminder to not be pressing our bodies against the windows trying to be somewhere or do something we can’t.
So I’d like to give you a different focus and have you hone in on one specific way this week.
I’d love for you to open the eyes of your heart to see someone in your neighborhood group as God sees them, in light of eternity. Just one person. That person may be struggling with God as “things” are beyond their control. Maybe they are overwhelmed with a burden that you are aware of as they share their concerns. Of course, we should also show empathy and pray.
But this weekend, I ask that you identify one person who needs a bit more this week in your group.
REACH OUT!
Call.
Text.
Safely show up for that person. I can’t begin to suggest what that might be for you to do but if you can’t figure it out, email me and I will sort it out with you.
Or maybe YOU are the one in need in your group.
SAY SOMETHING to someone in your group.
Call.
Text.
Tell the people you call your neighbor and friend what you need.
Here’s a promise. If you are the giver or the receiver, you will be blessed! Rather than pressing on the windows with your fingerprints, you will be peering out of the eyes of your heart.
