C-19 Reflection #78: Grateful Eyes

C~19 Daily Reflection (#78)

Theme: Grateful Eyes

Scripture: Isaiah 53:1-6 (The Message)

Who believes what we’ve heard and seen?

    Who would have thought God’s saving power would look like this?

The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling,

    a scrubby plant in a parched field.

There was nothing attractive about him,

    nothing to cause us to take a second look.

He was looked down on and passed over,

    a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.

One look at him and people turned away.

    We looked down on him, thought he was scum.

But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—

    our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.

We thought he brought it on himself,

    that God was punishing him for his own failures.

But it was our sins that did that to him,

    that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!

He took the punishment, and that made us whole.

    Through his bruises we get healed.

Reflection:

Because of Isaiah we should know better, but sometimes we miss it. We just don’t see those good and important things, even when they are right in front of our faces. Dismissing, even despising, the ordinary and naming insignificance seems to come naturally and easily to us. Thank God that gratitude is a gift that can help us to get the blinders off so we can see more clearly. It really is hard to be grumpy and cynical when you are grateful. Let’s open our eyes heading into the day and into the weekend!

“The eyes of hope are grateful eyes. Before our eyes learned to look gratefully at the world, we expected to find beauty in good looking things. But grateful eyes expect the surprises of finding beauty in all things. And they do find it.” ~ David Steindl-Rast, Gratefulness, the Heart of Prayer

Prayer:

“Lord, surprise me out of my boredom today. Help me to see you and help me to find your many gifts in the midst of my ordinary.”