look upon the horizon

We walked out the front door, and he turned to me in excitement. “Look, Mummy, our neighbour, has a new house” I looked out from the vista of where we stood on the porch, and I was puzzled as I couldn’t see what he was seeing.

“Not sure what you mean mate,” I replied with curiosity, and he replied with frustration. “Look, Mum, look, can’t you see it? our neighbour has a new house.”

Puzzled I got into the car, and he shook his head knowing that I couldn’t see what he saw.

The next day, as the sun rose, we stood and watched the cloud rise and the view on the horizon say hello to a new day. He stood by my side and repeated it.

“Mummy can you see the beautiful new blue house that our neighbours have built. It’s a double-decker one, and it is so beautiful.”

Ever since my little man could talk, he loved houses that have a second storey. He believes the higher the house, the greater the view. He likes to see the world at a distance.

I stood there perplexed as I could not get my eyes to see what he saw. I breathed in deep and begged my eyes to see.

Have you ever struggled to perceive something that everyone else is seeing?

It is like your sitting at a table, trying to talk to someone, both of you experiencing the same circumstances, yet each coming up with entirely different outcomes.

As we walk towards a horizon together, trying to find clarity can be difficult and confusing. Irritation can stop us from seeing opportunities right in front of our eyes. We need help sometimes to elucidate the horizon, so we can walk towards the new with courage.

The next morning as we walked towards the car, my little man pointed to the horizon again. “Mum can you see the new house our neighbours have built, it’s blue, it’s a double-decker house, and it’s so wonderful.”

And then in the midst of the very ordinary, I saw and perceived what he was trying to show me Through the cracks of houses across the horizon, in a space previous, now was the most beautiful brand spanking new, blue two-storey house.

A house has been built in front of our yard, straight across the road, albeit behind the house in front, but we had not seen its construction at all.

Every day, I look upon that vista. I walk outside, and I water the plants, I look longingly out to the horizon. I search for the sun setting. Waiting and watching, wondering if rain is going to fall. But I missed a whole house being built in the foreground because I was so focused on the horizon.

My little perceiver, however, danced with delight when he saw our new neighbours abode rise in the distance. He desperately wanted to help me see what he saw.

This story reminds me of how we get stuck in our everyday. We can easily miss what is happening right before our eyes because we are so concerned with the present or our eyes lost in the allure of the future.

Right in the middle, opportunities and houses are being built for occupation, right ahead of our very eyes.

Reflections about perceiving

1. Often someone in your life can see more about what is happening on your horizon, but it takes humility to stop and listen, allowing them to help you to understand.
2. Sometimes we can get stuck handling the affairs of the day, the chores and the mundane that we forget to look up and take the time to perceive.
3. Also, we can be so lost looking out into the horizon, the greater tomorrow, our dreams and goals, that we don’t perceive or see the buildings that are happening in the foreground, inviting us into our next opportunity for tomorrow.
4. And lastly, we need to take the time to listen, slow and hear what is being constructed right before our eyes, because it may just be the answer our eyes have been searching for.

Matthew 6:22

“The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.”

Look upon the horizon my friend, there may be something surprising in the foreground, building and you just haven’t seen it yet.

Amanda