Valley of the Blind

They tell me there’s a valley

The people there are blind.

No eyes have they, no sight, no light;

They grope, their way to find.

Sadly enough, they can’t conceive

Of sight, or seeing eyes

Of color, sunrise – they will laugh!

And say, “You’re telling lies”.

One day, they say, a seeing man

Walked in and found this valley

He saw their plight and sightless blight

And cried, “Oh folks, do listen to me!

“The sunrise, it’s like gold today!

It’s streaked with red, pink, yellow!”
But all the blind thought he’d lost his mind

Crying, “Ho! You crazy fellow!”

“But oh, it’s true!” he cried aloud

“You’d know, if you’d have eyes!”

But still they jeered, and laughed and leered

And said, “You’re telling lies.”

The man with eyes thought, “I must stay,

“For all these folks must know

The wonders and the safety that

A pair of eyes bestow!”

So he moved in. And every day

He walked from street to street

He truly tried, the blind to guide

But it was no small feat!

“Hey, these are EYES,” he’d say and then

He’d let them feel his own

But his heart was torn as they would scorn

And say, “Pshaw! You’re so alone.

“Why would we want to have these ‘eyes’?!
We feel we’ve all we need.

Two little spheres that run with tears?

We need them? No indeed!”

Others would simply walk away,

Waving their sticks all around

Humming a song, they’d go along,

Stumbling along valley ground.

Sometimes he’d try to help them out

When he’d see some egg on a beard

Or a rip on a dress, or one’s hair all a mess;

Their response? “This fellow is weird!”

The weeks went by, and the seeing man,

He saw a young maiden fair

True, she couldn’t see, but her eyes he’d be-

He decided it then and there.

She loved him too, and ‘twas a match

They started to plan their life

But her family heard, saying, “That’s absurd!

“You can’t take her as your wife!”

“Give up your eyes!” they ordered him

“Then we’ll reconsider your plan.

“Your sight makes us queasy and feel all uneasy

“Your eyes make you crazy, old man.”

He pondered it long. For he loved the blind girl

And he loved all the folks in the valley

“But could I despise the sight of my eyes?-

Though I love her, ‘n’ all of her fam’ly?!”

His love finally won, and the day quickly came

By the evening his sight would be over.

He steadied his soul and he studied his girl,

The one who had made him a lover.

But a moment of truth, light came to his soul,

He groaned, and he moaned, and recanted.

“Why, I’d be a fool to give such a jewel,

I’m taking my seeing for granted!”

“I can’t do this, folks, I’m sorry,” he said

And he slowly walked home to his cottage

“To trade in the light for the darkness of night

Is exchanging a birthright for pottage.”

______

And others there are, in a world of the blind

Who have eyes, but are mocked for their seeing

“What globe are you from?! Your worldview is dumb!

Are you sure you’re a real human being?”

They certainly are, and wiser by far,

Than the folks who can’t see the Eternal

They have a reward which in heaven is stored

And by faith they receive the supernal.

These folks see the Light of Eternity Bright,

As they live in the smile of their Father

They scorn all the joys of this world’s passing toys,

Choosing rather than pleasure, to suffer.

They see what’s invisible, what can’t be seen

By our physical eyes which deceive us

(For those eyes think they see complete reality

And from the real truth they bereave us.)

 But some grasp in faith God’s invisible things

And they stand on the Word God has given

They choose to believe that they will receive

Great rewards when they come into Heaven.

Yes, they will be mocked, as they live in this vale

Where the blind say what’s ‘real’ and what’s ‘actual’

But shall blind hold the sway,

when they can’t see their way

And they don’t know what’s actually factual?!

Oh, dear Seeing Christians, don’t poke out your eyes

For the love of a temporal pleasure

For that would be trading the bright for the fading,

The passing, for eternal treasure.

The world needs your faith to show clearly the way

That they can find peace and know Jesus

For it’s by faith in Him that this world becomes dim

And He, from our sightlessness frees us.

By faith you can help others see the Eternal

And bring them into Jesus’ Kingdom

They’ll find that the Light brings more thrill than the Night

And that Seeing is marvelous Freedom!

1/2/2016 HNR

I wrote this after a time of feeling the pull of earthly things very strongly. God showed me just how blind I had nearly become to what is really REAL, that is, heavenly treasures and an exciting life in eternity where we will be alive in the fullest sense. When someone shared the story about the man who discovered the fictional "valley of the blind" with me, this poem flowed out of my pen.

The 5-Worded Thought

On days that are so cold and frozen stiff like the ones that tend to string through January, I find it very pleasant to think about things that are vibrant and warm and alive.

So one day when a Five-Worded-Thought sidled up to my mind, I gave it a silent shriek of delight and welcomed it right in. I held onto it, so it wouldn’t easily be able to go. 

In Indonesia, where my husband lived for five years, you always serve tea to company. Sweet, fragrant, scalding-hot tea. What you as a newcomer might not realize when you take that first boiling sip, however, is that the tea says something about your stay. It says, “Welcome! Obviously, you can’t handle drinking me quickly, so relax and stay awhile. We don’t want you to leave too fast.”

If that Five-Worded-Thought was visiting me in Indonesia, I would’ve made the hottest tea possible to ensure a lengthy duration of its stay.

I almost think you’re joining me in my mind by now. I hope so. I hope you’re making some hot tea to enjoy with that wonderful Thought and me... 

But how could you enjoy the Thought if I don’t tell you more about it? Let me try. It goes like this: 

God Is Alive In Me. (Pause and repeat, emphasizing each individual word.)

Sometimes the inside of me feels pretty dead. Alone. Shriveled and ugly. Have you ever felt that way? I hope not. But I’m going to guess that most of us have. But oh! -

I am desperate for that Five-Worded-Thought to stick around because it is the truth, coming from the very Word of God. Even on the worst days, if I go all the way down the spiraling staircase of my soul, right in the core of who I am, God is there. He is dwelling within me. He’s alive! He’s doing great! He is All-Power, All-Authority, All-Wisdom, All-Wonderful-GOD. I am full of wonder.

From a song he wrote, I can tell Mr Whittle was delighted by the thought of this Life inside of us when he looked at a pine cone. Those swirling, tough chips of woodiness held within each of them the potential for an entire seventy-foot tree. How could that be? How could something that looks so beautiful and yet so dead, become an actual living, growing tree? 

He also stopped in awe at a flower seed; in my imagination it will be a nasturtium. One of those tiny, roundish, wrinkly, pale specimens held within it life; life which has all potential to become bobbing green leaves and colorfully orange flowers! 

“As lives the flower within the seed

As in the cone, the tree

So praise the God of truth and grace!

His Spirit dwelleth in me.” -D. Whittle

So while I entertain this Five-Worded-Thought, I’m going to pop all of us a question: 

Since the most Living of living possibilities is inside me, what needs to happen for me to let His possibilities explode into all their potential within me?

If any wonderful Thoughts sidle up at your home beside my Question, I would be so delighted to get invited over. We could even make some tea.

P.S. You might want to check out Galatians 2:20, Colossians 3:3 and John 17:23.

You Belong...With Me

The fascinating Baby Game started minutes after Joy Johanna made her entrance into our home. Studying the newly created, soft little human, the game began: “Who does she look like?” and, “I think Joy has Jonathan’s nose.” Since then, it has continued: “I just can’t get over how much she looks like her Grandma Lloyd!” “Do you think she looks more like you or her dad?” “I just can’t figure out who she looks like!” “Her mouth is definitely her Daddy’s.” 

Mama and Daughter

Amidst the delightful quest which The Baby Game offers of trying to figure out who our daughter resembles, we know one thing for sure: she belongs to us. 

And the older she gets, the more she starts to look like us. Soon, I’m sure, she will begin to act like us too! (The parts we like as well as the parts we don’t appreciate seeing replicated, no doubt!)

On Sunday I looked across the church auditorium and caught sight of a very familiar little person whom my Mama was holding. In one feasting glance I took in her little round face and big blue eyes peeking over chubby fists wedged in between her gums. A thrill of ownership went through me involuntarily. Because she’s MINE! 

I see myself in her. I see my husband in her. When we look at her we know she’s “ours”. She belongs to us, to our family. What fierce love a mother-heart can contain as she beholds her child!

I wonder...if this is how God feels about us.

I wonder what He thinks and feels as His eyes scan across the rooms, the counties, the countries of the spinning earth. He looks, and then His eyes stop. This one. “This one belongs to ME.” I wonder what He feels, as He sees His own children, one by one. His offspring. I wonder if He plays the “game” we like to play, looking for ourselves in our young. I can imagine Him exclaiming, “She’s got My love!” “Oh, look at him. His eyes. They see what I see!” “Wow, she just did what I would do.” “Look at the way he spoke the truth in love. Ahh! Just like Me.”

From Pixabay

To me, that’s a pretty special imagination.

He sees me and He claims me as His own child! The more I grow spiritually, the more He sees Himself in me!

As I look at the glory of the Lord, guess what? I start to look like Him! “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2 Cor. 3:18, KJV)

He loves us and He loves to watch us grow. He likes when He sees Himself in us.

I belong in His family.

The sun is fading in the sky as I hold a picture of my daughter beside a picture of me as a baby. Evening twilight is a good time for reflection. It’s a good time to belong. Scooping up my daughter, I kiss her little cheeks. “Joy Johanna. You belong...with me.”

Payday

If you would've been able to enter a dream I dreamt the other night, this is what you would've seen:

I was climbing a steep mountain road. Suddenly some friends of mine came rolling past in their car. Seeing me walking beside the road, their jolly faces popped out of the windows as they yelled, “Hey! You wanna ride with us!?” I hopped in quite gratefully, and soon we were zooming away together towards their home. When we arrived at their house, I was surprised to see evidences of a big celebration everywhere, including friends, food, and colorful decorations. My friends were throwing a big party! Many of their friends were there too, so I asked what this was all about. 

“Payday"! They exclaimed. “We are celebrating payday!” The dream ended with me taking in my surroundings in perplexity, knowing inherently that these people were celebrating a payday which was, strangely, yet to come.

When I awoke, I remembered that I had asked God for an encouraging dream the night before. Was there anything He wanted to say through this wild dream of my party-crazy friends? 

Then realization came rolling up to my consciousness like Friday comes after Thursday. Payday! Has the real Payday, the one that will stunningly excel all other paydays, happened yet? No! But it’s definitely coming up. Our Master, the Boss, is coming soon and His reward will be with Him! What if He's trying to encourage me to celebrate this coming day now, by throwing a spiritual "party" in my heart as I go about my labors for Him?

When Payday dawns, what kind of remuneration do you expect? Is it something worth celebrating about now? If not, it is definitely be a good idea to start putting in some joyful hours!

He Himself says that He will reward the servants who are ready. Both the one who plants and the one who waters will be rewarded. He is coming soon, bringing His reward with Him, to repay all people according to what they’ve done! (See Lk 12:38, 1Cor 3:8, Rev 22:12; slightly paraphrased from the NLT for better flow. Check the verses out for yourself!)

Why not have a celebratory, enthusiastic attitude as though already seeing our hours listed on the pay stub? Heavenly accounts are adding up; let’s celebrate the Payday which is yet to come by more enthusiastically lavishing our lives upon those around us with joyous love of Jesus!

“Payday” is coming soon!