Everyday Blessings

I read a post by John Piper that talked about his lessons from great men like his Father and C.S. Lewis. One in particular was his observation that in life, they always found ways to be amazed.  They looked for the divine in everyday occurrences. By beholding the glory and beauty around them, they were no longer focused on themselves but rather had their eyes fixed on the Lord.  I want to live like this. I want to look at the people around me and instead of seeing a body with a coffee in hand, I want to recognize that they are a soul who share in the same love of a coffee shop as I do.  They are not robots but men and women like me who also bear the image of the heavenly. As I prayed for this, the Lord opened my eyes and I realized that this same Lord I often accuse of being absent or silent is found everywhere in his creation. When I look for Him, I cannot stop seeing evidence of His presence.

There’s this sweet old woman in Starbucks that I hope to be like one day. She comes in almost every day and diligently reads her bible and takes notes- occasionally glancing around smiling and talking to people near her. Tonight Laura and I watched as she knelt beside the young girl sitting near her and asked to pray for her. It truly was a beautiful moment.

The couple beside me has been going through the book of Ephesians and talking about how to apply it to their marriage and life.

Even in the unbelieving man from Belgium who asked my roommate about the gospel. Despite his unbelief that some guy on a cross could save him, God was there. In his questioning. In his search for more. The Lord knew. Unbeknownst to this man, the Lord was reconciling his heart, else he wouldn’t have stopped to ask.

As I drove to the hospital to sit with a friend, I ran into a sweet older woman in the parking garage who looked about as confused as I felt. She asked if I knew where the exit of the garage was since we were on the 4^th floor. Naturally, I pretended to know exactly how to get out and prayed the old elevator would make it without stopping. Somehow even the floor that said level 1 yielded no luck. I found a door with three levels of stairs and assured the lady this would lead to the sidewalk meanwhile apologizing repeatedly that I couldn’t find a better way. Thankfully she just laughed and said she knew she needed the exercise.  As we reached the landing, we walked the next few blocks to the hospital entrance and talked as if we were long-time friends. 

A few days ago, as I was pacing the aisles of Publix searching for almond milk and two minutes from calling my mom and asking her where it might be (because mom’s magically know the layout of every grocery store) I passed a woman.  She was in a motorized scooter and I heard the exasperation in her voice as a stream of “Sweet Lord Jesus” escaped from her breath while she struggled to stand and reach the top shelf. I walked over and asked if she needed help and with a look of mixed confusion and thankfulness she asked if I could help her find some turkey breast and pork chops. My first though Naturally, of all the people in the store, this poor woman asked a vegetarian to help her find meat. In all honesty, I do not know the difference between a pork chop and tenderloin steaks. My pride would not allow me to admit that so I spent the next several minutes showing her different meat packages and waiting for her to shake her heard or give a nod of approval. Thankfully she left the store with everything she needed and I left better educated on meat. I’d say it was a win-win.