DOG... GOD

Georgia and I went on a walk/ hike through the Chattahoochee National Land Reserve by the river yesterday, and aside from getting some endorphins pumping and a little vitamin D and serotonin from the sun, I learned a little something about our perspective and God's.

As Georgia and I were walking along the banks of the river, she was sniffing fervently about and around the path. And she was learning a lot. I can only imagine: scents of people, smells from animals, warmth from the earth, squishy mud between her toes and who had come immediately before her--finding meaning in all of it and connecting the dots in her head. But I looked up over the water and saw geese lighting on the river surface, having flown down in a perfect V formation. They were beautiful and majestic and their amazing transition from the air to the water was actually quite breath-taking. I tried to get Georgia to pay attention, because I knew she would LOVE to see this, but she couldn't. She was too preoccupied with the mud, with the earth, with the tangible stuff right in front of her, to look up. As I took in this moment and (try as I might) as Georgia completely missed it and finally looked at me with an annoyed expression of "Geez, mom, what?!", a thought hit me:
this must be what it's like for God as He tries to direct our gaze upward and show us His amazing reality.
Wow. I'd hate to miss it, but often times I think we do. I know I do. I can get pretty interested in the physical, tangible, "real" stuff of this world and forget to lift my gaze, even for a moment. It doesn't keep the beautiful reality from happening, but there are times that I definitely miss it; afterwards, when I feel my heart strings tug at me over and over, I turn to God, confused, and ask: "WHAT?" But by then I've missed it. My reaction was delayed and I was not quite paying attention to the right reality.

I want to pay attention. I want to see the beautiful things God has for us. I want to have a heart and a mind that's attuned to the Holy Spirit, so that when God says, "Look!" I can see it and receive it fully. I want to lift my eyes up off the mud of my path and see the foreign elements of sky and water and beauty. I want so much more. Lord, help me. Amen.