CONSIDER OTHERS & LET THE SUNSHINE IN

On a soggy day when one's heart feels as gray as the clouds outside, it's hard to have a "sunny" attitude. But God....reminds me in His word, that He is the lifter up of one's head. (Psalm 3:3)

So, I looked up and there was a recent gift from a sweet friend. A perfect gift for me. It had even been given in a "Dotsy" bag....and "dots" ran along the border of the tea towel.

It was all I needed. A gift with a "spiritual" history to take my eyes off my self and begin considering others. The fair trade company tag said, "Let Hope Arise!" My tea towel was hand-made in India by "Daughters of Hope, a social enterprise which supplies "a link in the chain of freedom in southern India." Sale of their products provide, poor and often forgotten, women from the slums of Bangalore with a chance to better themselves. What a treasure of a gift! A gift to open my eyes.

Lesson learned. Allow what you already have to bring the "Sonshine" in to your heart. I only had to have eyes to see that which was right in front of me.

visibili-TEA

This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand......But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. (Matthew 13: 13 & 16, NASB)

What does it take for one to see clearly?  For me, it's a prescription for bifocals. But even with my spectacles, there are times, especially when reading, that extra light is needed for me to truly see.

Beyond physical sight there is also spiritual "seeing." In a world of opaqueness, there no longer seems to be clear lines when it comes to truth and morality. Our minds are blurred with cultural myths. Not easy to see through the teachings of the media. Our visibility and understanding are skewed.

 More "light" is required. Jesus realized that as He taught both His disciples and the multitudes. The "light" of understanding was needed to see truth and nurture a heart of understanding. Why couldn't they see? Why did the One who is the "Light" have to tell stories? Illumination was required. Spiritual illumination. 

True visibili-TEA comes from eyes and heart opened by the Spirit of the Lord. 

I can see clearly now as I sip from the cuppa of visibili-TEA with my Bible open to the parables in Matthew 13.