Dear Rose Park,
Have you ever driven by a farm where horses are grazing near the road? If so, then you’ve probably seen what are called blinders on their face; these are a piece of equipment that prevents the horse from seeing behind or to the side, thus avoiding the opportunity for the horse to be spooked while near the road and fast-moving cars. Well, this past Monday I felt like one of those horses wearing blinders.
I was up a little after 6:00AM enjoying my cup of coffee and getting ready to spend some time in prayer. As I quieted my heart and began to pray, a buddy of mine texted me. I ignored the text and kept praying. I prayed for God to open my eyes to the opportunities to serve Him. As I quietly prayed, a neighbor came to mind, but said to myself, “that has nothing to do with this, stay focused.” I prayed for wisdom and a listening ear as to how can I raise my children to love Christ. As I did, I heard the patter of little footsteps walking to the bathroom, but tried to ignore the sound to keep praying. Then it hit me, God was showing me what I was praying for and I was ignoring Him. I figuratively had blinders on.
It made me realize, the opportunities to serve God most likely are in the day-to-day relationships that already exist, however I was blind to them because I was waiting or half-expecting that they’d arrive in some grandiose fashion. I wonder if you could say the same? Are there opportunities to serve God and expand the Kingdom in relationships that already exist in your life? Are you living with blinders on either hoping for a different opportunity or no opportunity at all?
God calls each and every one of us to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love our neighbors as ourselves. If this is the case, then perhaps the greatest way we can love God and neighbor is through the opportunities that He makes available to us each and every day. Let each of us take off our blinders in order to truly see what God is showing us. It’s my hope and prayer that through these opportunities we might be drawn closer to each other as we’re drawn closer to Him.
Grace & Peace,
Pastor Mark