Eyes to See – Sunday, April 05, 1981
Not long ago a man in the southern part of the United States saw a nurse’s hand holding an eyedropper. For most of us the sight would have been barely worth a glance. For him it was spectacular because it was the first thing he had ever seen. After 51 years of life an operation had given him sight.
And what amazing things he saw. “I never would have believed”, he said, “that yellow was so…so yellow”. Blades of grass and the hair on his arm intrigued him. A jet plane streaking across the sky or a sunset leave him speechless. ‘I can’t wait to get up each day’”, he says, “to see what I can see”.1
He has discovered a beautiful and fascinating world. Unfortunately many of us have grown partially blind to the things he sees.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning once wrote, “Earth’s crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God; but only he who sees takes off his shoes. The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries”.2
The press of daily duties in this busy world can create cataracts on the eyes of our inner spirits and take the freshness and sparkle out of what we see. The pace of life today demands quickness of step and firmness of purpose if we are to do what needs to be done. But if our eyes get so focused on the goal ahead that we cannot observe the scenery we pass along our way, we may miss one of the main purposes of our excursion through life.
Some of the most significant things we’ll accomplish on this planet will have more to do with stopping to smell the roses than with keeping on schedule.
Fresh, bubbling streams and blossoming flowers, mountains and moonlight—surely these things were meant for more than just our subsistence; are worth more than just a casual glance.
To watch the wonder of God’s creations is a form of worship whether one is in a wilderness or at a window box. There truly are, as Shakespeare said, “…tongues on trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones and good in everything”.3
1 Deseret News, Salt Lake City, March 6-7, 1981, pg A-3
2 Elizabeth Barrett Browning, “Crowned and Buried” quoted in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, Oxford University Press. Oxford,1979, Pg97
3 William Shakespeare, As You Like It, Act II, Scene 1, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Spring Books, London, Pg. 214.
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April 05, 1981
Broadcast Number 2,694