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Seeing what you want to See

            My wife, Sara, loves birds, so in the spring I get daily reports that go something like this: “The chickadees are back…. I saw a Robin today…. Ooh, I hear a woodpecker over there!”  She gets excited when she sees hawks floating on the breeze.  Our backyard is filled with bird feeders and we get more than our share of feathered visitors.
Over the course of our marriage, I have come to enjoy watching the birds as well.  I even know the names of some of them now.  I am especially good at spotting “Red-winged Blackbirds” (Why can’t all birds be this obviously named?).   Of course, there is nothing new going on here.  The birds have been around for my entire life.  I just never paid any attention to them.  What is new is that Sara has taught me to notice these little creatures and now I cannot stop seeing and hearing them.  They are everywhere!
You will see what you choose to see.
The Old Testament prophet Isaiah worked during a difficult time in the history of God’s people.  They experienced a lot of ups and downs and it seemed like more often than not they were their own worst enemies.  Everything seemed difficult for them.  Therefore, God sent Isaiah with this message: “The desert and the parched landed will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.  Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy…. [then everyone] will see the glory of the Lord, the splendour of our God” (Isaiah 35:1-2).   God’s people had a choice.  They could focus on the desert or the blossoms.  They could act like they lived in parched land or they could realize that in places, “Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.  The burning sand will become a pool and the thirsty ground bubbling springs” (Verses 6-7). 
As spiritual people, I believe it is our job to look for the good that God is doing and then join him in promoting and encouraging those activities. 
It takes a different mindset to look at the desert and see the flower instead of the sand. 
However, once you start looking for good things, you will find that you see them everywhere.

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