Lift Up Your Eyes
May 5, 2020
By Roslyn Catracchia, Director of Worship and Congregational Life
At the end of March, Chris Pan said he heard someone say, “It feels like the 485th day of March!” I agree! It feels like this quarantine period has been going on forever! And I’m not the only one feeling like this.
Last week a friend of mine wrote on Facebook, “Went through Starbucks drive through today. (Starbucks) Lady asked what I’d like. I said, ‘May I get a venti Pumpkin Spice Latte?’ She said, ‘Oh, I’m so sorry, we don’t have that yet.’ I said, ‘What?!? Isn’t it October yet? What day is it? This is the first day I’ve been out of the house. Is the pandemic over?’ (Starbucks lady) was a good sport and laughed, saying ‘I think it’s Wednesday.’ My family, however, was less than thrilled at my shenanigans.”
The moments are melting into days, and the days into weeks, and through it all, we’re finding new ways of filling our days. So much is not “normal” as we know it. But I’m hearing more and more stories of widening our vision, of growing in our understanding. And many of us are finding time we didn’t think we had to grow closer to God.
Okay, so some days are easier to “grow closer to God” than others, for sure. Much of my time these days is spent trying to navigate through the technical mazes I’m facing, figuring out how to do things by myself at home that I used to have a whole team of people doing with me. I call friends for advice often, and I use technology (FaceTime) to show them my problem and hope they can help me fix things. But overall, what might have taken only a few minutes in the past sometimes takes hours.
So I have to remind myself to stop, stand, breathe, stretch, pray, walk, sigh, smile, and … look up
A couple of weeks ago, after hours inside the house on online Zoom meetings, I finally felt a strong tug on my heart to go for a walk. I threw on my shoes, threw open the front door, and set out purposefully. I strode willfully to the sidewalk, eyes down, determined to exercise the stress out of me. And then … I looked up! And oh, what I saw took my breath away!
The sky, the splendor! It stopped me in my tracks. I walked a few more steps and had to stop for a significant time and just stared at the beauty. My gaze was transfixed, and I know it’s kind of crazy, but the glorious sky got me crying.
I told God, “Goodness! But You’re showing off today, aren’t You?”
And I kind of felt like He said back to me, “Well, it’s about time you looked up.”
It amazes me how wonderfully creative our Heavenly Father is, never ceasing to use new ways to get the attention of us stubborn, reluctant creatures.
"When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; What are human beings that You are mindful of them, mortals that You care for them? Yet You have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor. You have given them dominion over the works of Your hands. You have put all things under their feet.”
—Psalm 8:3-6
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.” (Psalm 19:4)
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for calling us with Your gentle, sweet Spirit, reminding us to take a break from our labor, from our frustrations and from our worries and heavy hearts, and to look up and see what wondrous gifts You have for us, in the heavens, in our friends, in Your Word, and in countless other places throughout each day and night. Amen
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