After Beth and I dropped our son Luke off at the airport in Missoula last Saturday we stopped at Michaels. Since Beth was looking around I decided to check out some poster-sized prints. As I was looking through them I came upon one with a nice landscape that had the following quote from Marcel Proust at the bottom - “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” Immediately I liked that quote!
The fact is that many of us are the adventurous type. We want to go see new places and have unique experiences. The result is that some people will go half way across the country (or around the world, for that matter) searching for new sights to see. While there is nothing wrong with this, and I enjoy travel myself, the tragedy is that we often don’t see the adventure and sights that are in our own backyard!
How many people feel that they are on the proverbial treadmill of life? I see that hand! Many times I feel the same way, too. Work, eat, sleep, work, eat, sleep. Sometimes life can get pretty routine, if not downright boring. Meanwhile there are unexplored and unappreciated things right in the everydayness of our lives that are awaiting our discovery - the sound of birds chirping in the trees, watching a butterfly flit across a field, seeing a new cloud formation, looking across the table at our spouse, watching an elderly couple walk down the street. These are all moments to savor and appreciate. It is all these momentary sights and sounds, taken together, that make a life. Each of these moments is an opportunity for us to appreciate the creative power of God.
Lord, in our quest for ‘new’ experiences help us not to neglect the wonder that You set before us every day. Help us to soak it in and savor it - to enjoy it as it unfolds. As we do, may it cause a deep sense of thankfulness to well up within us for the opportunity we have to enjoy Your creation. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
The fact is that many of us are the adventurous type. We want to go see new places and have unique experiences. The result is that some people will go half way across the country (or around the world, for that matter) searching for new sights to see. While there is nothing wrong with this, and I enjoy travel myself, the tragedy is that we often don’t see the adventure and sights that are in our own backyard!
How many people feel that they are on the proverbial treadmill of life? I see that hand! Many times I feel the same way, too. Work, eat, sleep, work, eat, sleep. Sometimes life can get pretty routine, if not downright boring. Meanwhile there are unexplored and unappreciated things right in the everydayness of our lives that are awaiting our discovery - the sound of birds chirping in the trees, watching a butterfly flit across a field, seeing a new cloud formation, looking across the table at our spouse, watching an elderly couple walk down the street. These are all moments to savor and appreciate. It is all these momentary sights and sounds, taken together, that make a life. Each of these moments is an opportunity for us to appreciate the creative power of God.
Lord, in our quest for ‘new’ experiences help us not to neglect the wonder that You set before us every day. Help us to soak it in and savor it - to enjoy it as it unfolds. As we do, may it cause a deep sense of thankfulness to well up within us for the opportunity we have to enjoy Your creation. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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