Having Eyes to See

Ok, I'm ready to face it - I have had a hard time approaching this blog since we moved to Seattle...

Slightly irrelevant but still hilarious old photo :)
"Buddy...is this how you see??"

     Not because nothing has happened - on the contrary, many great 'somethings' have happened! We are settling in beautifully to this city that does spring so well; enjoying the many friends that are now close at hand, and reveling in the fact that we don't have to pack in a month's time. We get to stay...I never thought I'd be so happy to say that out loud.

Much more current (less funny) photo

     The fact is I am ready to dig deep and get to know the earth beneath my feet a little more than the past 12 months' worth of nomadic living has allowed. But I've been trying to reconcile the premise of this blog with the fact that we are no longer traveling, in the traditional sense.

The passports are tucked away.

We've unpacked the boxes.

We mean to stay.

     Does that mean that I've lost my platform to tell our tales or recount life's joys? My heart tells me no. If I'm honest, every great journey I've been on has included moments of discovery that had very little to do with geography. Sure, it's easier to contemplate poverty when you're walking through a Guinean marketplace, or to ponder mortality when you're at the bedside of an end-of-life patient making the brave choice to let go. But in order to be impacted by my circumstances, I have had to be in a state of heart to receive the impact - to be affected by the world around me. To have eyes to see. 

     This past week I visited a lovely local church who's pastor preached on this very subject, using John 9 as his source: the miracle of the blind man receiving sight. A man born blind becomes the topic of debate among Jesus' disciples as they try to determine whether it was his sin or his parent's that made him blind. Jesus rejects both suggestions, stating that actually, this man was made this way to display God's glory. "While I am in the world, I am the Light of the World", He proclaims. He then proceeds to spit on the ground, turn the dirt into mud, and wipe this mud on the blind man's eyes. The man is sent to wash his eyes in the Pool of Siloam and he returns seeing. 

     If you're a literary buff, this is about as plain as allegory gets - The Light of the World gave a man SIGHT...amazing on so many levels. But my one take-away this week was that it doesn't matter where we are, if we see things in light of the Light, we can see. Ok, let me clarify - I just read that and maybe it's muddy. If I allow Christ to be the eyes thru which I see the world, then it doesn't matter if I'm in Washington or in Africa, He can use me to touch those around me. Right. Here. Plain and simple. There are needs here that are just as important as starving children. There is such a thing as poverty of the soul. There is suffering that doesn't meet your eyes when you pass it on the street. I want to see, Lord how badly I want to see.

One of our brilliant sunsets

     So I've come to the conclusion that there is more than one way to travel in life. Whether you're mobile or stationary, you are on a journey. One can choose to travel the world and another can live in the same town for 50 years. Both can grow. Both will experience change. And both can impact others and live richly. I believe that now. So my husband and I have decided to plant for a time, and see what journeys of the heart we will be taken on :)