Blind Spots

I’m usually a very organized, perceptive person. I can see the big picture and also details. But there was one very trivial event in my past that comes to mind every now and then to remind me that we all have blind spots. Things we just don’t see until something comes along that opens our eyes, and then we find it hard to believe that we didn’t see it before.

Ten years ago God moved us from Southern California to Phoenix. When we got there we found a great house and bought it. Selling a house in California and moving to Phoenix is easy. The reverse… not so much. Our house in the desert was even on a golf course since I needed to see grass.

A year after we moved into that new house I discovered that there was another drawer in the kitchen that I had never seen before. A whole year!! I don’t know what led me to pull it open, but when I did, there was a big drawer with nothing in it. And for most of us, finding extra space in our kitchens is priceless. I still can’t figure out how I went a whole year without noticing that empty drawer was there just waiting to be used.

Now in my defense, the kitchen had one of those stove tops that was not above and connected to the oven. It was simply set into the kitchen counter above some cupboards. So the part of the cabinet directly under the stove top looked like one of those fake things they put in front of sinks since there isn’t room for a drawer there. But in this kitchen… there was a drawer there under the stove top!

It’s been ten years since I found that empty drawer. And even now, whenever I find myself thinking that I have something all figured out – that I’ve got all the answers – I remember that drawer. Even though it was a silly insignificant thing, it reminds me that we all have blind spots - things that are totally off our radar until all the sudden we see them, and we wonder how in the world we didn’t see them before.

It reminds me that I need to always be open to growing and learning. And I need to constantly be asking God to help me see what’s true and what’s not. What’s really important and what’s not. Because blind spots happen to all of us. We just don’t know what they are until something comes along that opens our eyes. And it happens with more important things than just an extra kitchen drawer.

So Much to Do, So Little Time

Are you in that wonderful exhausting phase of life when it seems like you’re spending all of your time changing diapers and tying shoes and practicing spelling words and making pb&j sandwiches shaped like dinosaurs & cute little hearts? When Dave & I were there, we heard a song that helped us see past the crazy and reminded us of what was really important. It was written by Paul & Teri Reisser and it’s called “Take the Time.” If necessary, lock yourself in the bathroom for a couple minutes so you can read it!

It’s 9:15 and bedtime took too long once again.

Another kiss, another glass of water, and then

the questions come, the hands hold tight, the eyes are open wide,

and something in me whispers, “Now’s the time.”

“Mommy, why did Muffy die?”

“Daddy, where’s the sun?”

“Are there cats in heaven?”

And, “Why did Jesus come?”

And though a whole day’s dishes wait, and the bills are piled high,

something in me whispers, “Take the time.”

Riding off to Narmia upon a lion’s back,

Chubby fingers close the book and add it to the stack.

“Aslan didn’t kill the witch – Oh dad, why did he die?”

And something in me whispers, “Now’s the time.”

The baseball game’s tomorrow, but so is my interview.

How can I play Scrabble when the income tax is due?

Little faces plead with me to put my work aside,

And something in me whispers, “Take the time.”

Take the time while their minds are open wide.

Take the time while they’re right here by your side.

Teach them now to love the Lord with all their heart and mind.

They’re only home a season – take the time.