The big disadvantage of being blind

Here it is. This past Saturday afternoon, a warm day, sunny and bright, I decided to eat my lunch outside. While settled in a lounge chair, safe inside the huge screen that surrounds our swimming pool, munching on a crisp salad, I listened to birds’ high-pitched melodic songs while a soft breeze played with my hair. When suddenly, a muffled squeal with a loud thud startled me. But it was the scratching that sent a chill up my spine A zillion options zipped through my head—a yucky snake, a raccoon, a squirrel, or an unknown creature from the woods behind us? Had my eyes been able to capture an image, I’d either dismiss the visit, shriek in horror, or be amused by the no-doubt-hungry visitor.

But unable to see, I froze. And the screen that separated us flashed only slight comfort. Whatever it was, it wanted my food.

Long ago, and in the very same way I wanted food for my soul, I hungered for confidence, reassurance, purpose, and security. I scratched and scratched but that awful screen, that strong metal barrier called pride kept me from enjoying the banquet God prepared for me. I had my own menu for life—confident in my abilities, I had the answers, the perfect plan, and my own perfectly crafted dreams. All in perfect order, but still starved and thirsty for meaning.

It wasn’t until I came to my knees in humility that I tasted the flavor of God’s love, deliciously seasoned to satisfy my emptiness, longing and fill the insecure compartments in my heart.

As we hop through the woods of the world, we can often smell what a life of joy, peace, confidence, and joy can be. And the only thing that keeps us from delighting in its richness is that metal screen of pride.

Is that why God’s Word makes it so clear when He said “Pride goes before destruction,
a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18)?

Praying you don’t fall in the destructive swamp of pride , instead dash through the path of humility and help yourself to the spread the divine chef offers to you and me—blind or sighted, successful or struggling, feeling accepted or rejected, longing or searching. The Lord has the perfect meal for every level of hunger, in ideal proportions and sufficient for a million lifetimes.

Janet

Janet Perez Eckles
www.janetperezeckles.com
“Life is not about what you cannot do because of circumstances out of your control. Success comes when you recognize what you can do with what God has given you.”
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