See?

  I love soaking in the beauty of our toddler. While she can certainly destroy a room in mere seconds if left to herself, she is also just the cutest thing in how she is discovering the world. One of her favorite words these days is “See?” She’ll point to a tree out the window, say something about how it has leaves, and then say, “See?” Or she’ll get out a handful of band-aids, unwrapping each and putting them carefully somewhere on her body. “Boo-boo, Mommy, see?”

Sometimes I hear her say these things outright, and I say, “Yes, baby, I see.” Sometimes, though, she has to literally take my face in her hands as I’m distracted with something else and pull it towards her own to ask if I really do “see.”

True to His faithfulness, God has been showing me something deeper with that word “see” lately, and it’s really been more of a question: “Do you see the bigger picture?” Or maybe it is actually, “Do you see that you don’t see the bigger picture?”

There are so many moments in life where I want to get results right here right now. I want to see that thing happen. I want to see God provide. I want my kids to love each other. I want that person or relationship to be healed. I want this loved one to walk with the Lord…. I could go on and on and on. But the point is, I can get downright discouraged if I don’t see things I pray for come to fruition in a timely way (on my own timeline of course).

And then He reminds me, there is a bigger picture. There is so much that I do not see. I think I am learning that many times over right now. God is prompting me in those frantic moments when I want to see results. He is urging me to step back, to remember that there is such a bigger picture that only He can see. Even the super hard things that I hate watching others go through, or the ones I don’t want to go through myself, are part of this grand design. Part of His love for us. Part of His plan to draw us stubborn souls to himself. Even though I don’t physically see it, I sense him reminding me to lay down my burdens and questions, frustrations and doubts, and remember that the bigger picture is there. He holds the future in His hands. See?