A few weeks ago I had a driving experience that was nerve wrecking and a little unsettling to say the least. I was thrust into
driving a car I had not really driven before, on a highway I had never been on
before and I had no idea where I was going. Oh, and did I mention it was the
evening rush hour!
I’m one to obey the law and that includes the speed limit,
so even though I was driving 68 in a 65 mph limit, you would have thought I was
crawling along. The cars were whizzing by and jumping in front of me on a four lane highway. Phew! The passenger next to me (the owner of the car)
kept talking to me about her hair and trying to show me something on her phone.
I couldn’t hear the GPS my daughter was holding in the back seat, so her
girlfriend thought it would be a good idea to read it to me instead. Not so! By
the time she read it, I was in the wrong lane for my left hand turn—not once,
but twice! And when I had to get over to my right, I realized I couldn’t see
out the mirror and I had to shout so the two voices vying for my attention
would be quiet long enough to hear that I couldn’t see and tell me when I could
move over. And to top it all off, the car had a really bad blind spot on the driver’s
side.
Yes! We made it to the restaurant safe and sound, but I felt
like I could have used a drink, and I don’t drink liquor! Whew!!!
Of course it would have been a much better ride if everyone
had been quiet and let me hear the GPS, but that is much like life…it is never
perfect and it’s full of noise and distractions vying for our attention.
Later on that evening as I went over the incident with the
Lord, I was inspired to think about the blind spots in our lives. Just like most cars have them, so do we as human beings.
None of us sees ourselves as others do, “aka” our blind
spots. If the Holy Spirit hadn’t told me to look closer when I was preparing to
move over to the left lane, I would have had an accident because the blind spot
hid the car coming up on my tail. (The car I’m used to driving sits higher and
the blind spot is different.) I needed Him to point this out to me. Same goes for us; we need help in seeing the blind spots in our lives and for some of
us—it’s an accident waiting to happen.
We can have all sorts of blind spots in our lives. I know
that parents are infamous in having them when it comes to their children, but
the biggest blind spot is usually in our own lives. Just as the blind spot on a
car can prevent you from seeing clearly and avoiding an accident, so do the
blind spots in our lives.
When my youngest was a teenager, I remember her telling me, “You
have never been fussed out by you and you don’t know how it feels.” She wasn’t
trying to be rude or sassy, but her words were like a slap in the face. What
did she mean by that? Well, the Holy Spirit didn’t allow me to run from the
truth and I had to spend time thinking about what she said and then praying
about it. She had pointed out one of my blind spots. And yes, I apologized to
her and to God. But most of all, I had to work on changing because it was no
longer a blind spot—it had been revealed.
One of the major culprits for blind spots is—pride!
Last week’s blog talked about “Self” and when we are wrapped
up in ourselves we have plenty of blinds spots, but it doesn’t stop there. They
are everywhere—because again—we do not see ourselves as others do.
How does God deal with blind spots? Exposure.
He uses people, (iron sharpens iron) but He will also tell
us in those quiet times with Him. Have you ever been sitting quietly reading
your Bible and “Bam!” the Holy Spirit magnifies a scripture (one you’ve read
many times before) to you in such a way, you can’t run or hid from what it’s saying?
I sure hope you have, because this is one of God’s favorite ways to reveal
blind spots. And also during prayer.
One day while praying, (early on in my walk with the Lord)
the Holy Spirit reveled to me, “You’re a liar.” “What?” “You heard me. You’re a
liar.” I burst into tears, because it was the truth and I couldn’t hide from the
illumination He was shedding on it. Not to defend myself, but I had been taught
by my mother to lie. It was ingrained in me and was such an intricate part of my
being. I lied so people would think I was interesting and like me. I lied
because I had low self-esteem and wanted people to think my life was better
than it was. I lied out of fear…but mostly as an adult; I lied because it was
who I was by then.
Yes, the Lord could have used someone to tell me, but I
doubt it would have touched me as it did with the Holy Spirit. You see, I
couldn’t defend myself or get angry and attack the messenger. No! I had to face
it head on and allow Him to help me change and cut that out of me.
It is easy for us to see the blind spots of others, but our
focus should be on seeing the ones in our own lives. Just has I had shout out
for help to see if it was clear for me to move over, we need to shout out to Jesus
and ask the hard question, “Lord what are the blind spots in my life? What is
it that I need to see and change?”
Sisters, I can’t say it enough. Read your bibles—spend time
in prayer—mediate on the Word of God—study!
Do you know that it has been found that 12 minutes of daily
focused prayer over an 8 week period can change the brain to such an extent
that it can be measured on a brain scan? This type of prayer seems to increase
activity in brain areas associated with social interaction compassion and
sensitivity to others. ~Dr. Carline Leaf~
I don’t care how busy your life is—all of us have 12 minutes
to spare. Amen!
Until next week...
No comments:
Post a Comment