I was so sure that the signs were obvious that I did not even think of mentioning them to the driver. The day was good. Not too much sun, no rain, no traffic, and nothing to block the observance and adherence to the traffic regulation. Obvious? Given the actions, the answer had to be not really!
I have done this too many times to count. I do not see the obvious and find myself hunting for the obscure. I walk through big, blatant signs ignorant of what they are telling me. I blissfully walk into the street, oblivious of traffic bearing down on me. I look right through the signals and signs being sent to me by coworkers, rationalizing my blindness by wrapping it up in the achievement of a higher goal. I ignore the facts and doubt the commitment of family and peers. I wonder aloud where God is, demanding a particular solution to a perceived issue.
My problem? I focus on what I think I need instead of life here and now. I am not living in the Presence of the present. In many ways these things merely point as symptoms to the root problem identified by Paul. “How could they [Israel, you, or I] miss it [God’s work]? Because instead of trusting God, they took over. They were absorbed in what they themselves were doing. They were so absorbed in their ‘God projects’ that they didn’t notice God right in front of them, like a huge rock in the middle of the road.” (Romans 9.32)
Is the solution just as plain? Does the answer for all variations of this problem rest in a single focus? Where should I put my energy and focus?
I believe the answer is simple, yet will be the most difficult thing for you or I to realize. The answer is to live in the Presence of the present.
God offers each of us three things. Long-term relationship (salvation assumes that you are interested in relationship!), a guardian angel, and himself through the Presence. Each answers to our blindness.
