Peterson - Eyes of the Heart, The: Seeing Gods Hand in the Everyday Moments of Life

2002 by Tracie Peterson

Published by Bethany House Publishers

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Bloomington, Minnesota 55438

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Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan
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Ebook edition created 2011

Ebook corrections 10.11.2013

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ISBN 978-1-4412-7076-4

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Cover design by Andrea Boven

Contents

I pray also that the eyes of your

heart may be enlightened in order

that you may know the hope to

which he has called you, the riches

of his glorious inheritance in the

saints, and his incomparably great

power for us who believe.

Ephesians 1:1819

Introduction

As a child I always thought people saw life the same way. I thought boys, girls, men, women, everyone had the same gifts and vision for the world around them. I was wrong. As I grew up, both spiritually and physically, I came to see the uniqueness of each individual. I dont think this lesson was driven home any more clearly than when my sister, Karen, commented to me that she couldnt string two words together and have them make sense.

How could this be? I thought. Didnt everyone possess the desire to writeand the ability? I figured writing was one of those original three basics you learned in school; how could she stand there and tell me she didnt have what it took to do this? Gradually I heard other people say the same thing. And silly as it sounds, that was when I came to better understand that Gods gifts and the talents He gives are uniquely designed for the person He desires us to be.

With this in mind, the concept for this book was born. I came to realize that some people find it easy to see God in everyday life, while others struggle with the burdens they carry, unable to see much of anything. Sometimes obstacles keep them from seeing the truth. And sometimes the truth is the very last thing they want to see.

Having been in both places, it has become my desire to share with you how God opened the eyes of my heart. I want to share this, because these lessons changed my life. And like a very special party where everyone is going to have a marvelous time, I didnt want you to miss out.

So settle back and view the world through my eyes, if you will. Open your heart to the wonder of Gods picture lessons. Let the eyes of your heart be enlightened that you might have hope. Hope that comes not from a book, or from me, for we will both fade away to dust. No, let the hope come from the King of the Universe, who loves you now even as He loved you on the cross.

Oh, and by the way, my sister, Karen, has a marvelous ability with numbers. She can do algebraic expressions in her sleepa talent God did not see fit to bless me with. Unique in the Lord? You bet. Ah, the wonder of God!

Tracie

The Consequences of Our Actions

One August afternoon I happened to be at the airport waiting for a flight. I sat watching the people around me, one of my favorite hobbies, and noted a scene that has stayed with me in a haunting manner ever since.

To one side of the waiting area, a woman stood with two children. A boy, who looked to be around twelve, maybe thirteen, and a girl no older than ten stood laden with backpacks and sweaters, clearly caught up in conversation with the woman. Off to the left, nearly ten or twelve feet away, stood a man most intent on the situation, but clearly alienated. For whatever reason, he wasnt being allowed to share in this farewell, although I could tell quite easily that he had some part in this strange little drama.

But what really held my attention, in fact, made me feel like the intruder I was, were the tears of the woman and the young girl. They werent merely crying, they were sobbing. It was a heart-wrenching sob, the kind that reaches the center of your soul and permeates your body. The boy was trying so hard to be stoic, but I could see his lip quivering as the woman spoke to him.

Tenderly she reached out and touched their faces, and I knew then that she had to be their mother. No one touches a child in quite the same way as a mother does, especially one with deep emotional ties. She cried, touched them again, hugged them close, and then pulled away to try to speak again. They clung to her and she to them. And all the while the man only watched. As did I.

The flight was called, and I saw her facethe sheer look of anguish and something akin to panic. She pulled the children close, and I heard her sob even louder as she told them she loved them. The little girl was clearly devastated. So was the boy. I saw the open wounds of his heart written on his face.

An airline representative came forward. She smiled sympathetically, assuring the woman that she would see to the children. She led them away after the woman was allowed one final kiss, one final embrace. The two looked over their shoulders as the uniformed woman escorted them to the plane. The woman reached out her hand to wave good-byeto fill the space that now separated them.

And then they were gone.

The man came forward, and the distraught woman collapsed in his arms. Everyone was watching by now. The scene mesmerized us all. What had just happened here? Why was this woman being separated from the children she so obviously loved?

I watched her walk to the long wall of windows. She pressed her hand to the glass as if she could somehow touch them again. The man stood behind her, stroking her shoulder. Her heart was on that plane, and he seemed to understand quite well.

I struggled with the timing of the situation. It was already late August. Time for school. These children were obviously headed out, away from their mother, for a good long while. After all, who would put school-aged children on a plane for a vacation at that time of the year? Besides, from the pained expressions and sobbing, these children werent on a simple trip to Grandmas house. They were leaving home.

Of course, I have no idea who they were or where they were headed. I dont know why the little family was being torn apart. Perhaps the children lived with their father. Obviously the man who comforted the woman had a very small role in their lives. He hadnt come forward before they left. Hadnt even so much as waved good-bye.