Clear

Some things are only clear from a distance.  It’s as if one needs “life” spectacles to see.  When one has glasses and distance, everything becomes clear.  The heart begins sees things for what they really are instead of how it wants to feel and believe.  The head starts to clear, pushing the stuff of life aside to see what truly is.  In the process everything begins to change.  The irony is how fuzzy I let life become.
 
I find myself getting confused in the hustle of the city.  Everything changes, with the help of friends.  With their counsel and insights, freely shared in the spirit of caring, I find myself seeing life in new ways.  It isn’t as if the facts have changed.  The world is just as confusing, complicated, and simple as it was.  What shifts is perspective; I stand on a vantage point built with a friend’s truth.
 
Friends give insight, pointing us in the right direction, and saying what needs to be said.  In one story of yesterday there was “the Message on Babylon.  Isaiah son of Amoz saw it.” (Isaiah 13.1)  The question rested with what would happen next.  Isaiah held the key then.  We hold keys to the lives around us now.  We may see things clearly but unless we have earned the right to share it may not make a difference.
 
Today is a fresh day of new opportunities.  Regardless of what part of the world you find yourself in – in places old and familiar or new and unexplored – there is a window in which you can act.  The questions which tug at each will trip even the strongest and most disciplined.  Friends can make the difference!  We can be on the outlook for each other, taking time to remind ourselves of the values and priorities we hold most precious.  We can be guard, guarding our souls and hearts as if our lives depended on it (and they do).  We can encourage and give aid along the way – it is in these unconditional gifts where we experience God most often.