When that Thing You’re Looking for is Right in Front of Your Face

If you’ve followed my writing for awhile, you may have noticed that I’ve spent nearly 16 years chasing sunsets in the hills of northeastern Kentucky. I seek them out, climb trees for hopes of a better view, write about wishing I could see them, and share devotionals when I do catch a good sunset on flatter grounds while traveling.

Tonight, inside my own office building, I stood in the kitchen and glanced up the stairs, then gasped at what I saw just outside the window at the end of the hall:

I didn’t have a fancy camera to take a good photo or a tree to climb to get a better view – I simply ran outside and stood in the grass, staring with a gaping mouth and wide eyes.

All this time, for so many years, I’ve been chasing sunsets. And all along, an incredible view of the sunset was right there in plain site. Just outside of where I was searching.

Then, after I arrived home tonight, I found a pile of library books on my daughter’s desk, and another bag full of library books in our living room cabinet.

Books that my daughters and I had searched the library for just hours prior, because we were so sure we’d returned them and the library staff had re-shelved them without checking the books in properly (in our defense, that has happened to us a few times before!).

How many times have we searched for something when what we’re looking for is right in front of us? From little things like needing our keys or our phones to larger things like wanting a stronger marriage or a more peaceful life.

Sometimes, the things we need are right in front of us. We just have to make sure our eyes and attention are focused in the right direction.

“I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.” Psalm 16:8 ESV

“The secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him, And He will make them know His covenant. My eyes are continually toward the Lord, For He will pluck my feet out of the net.” Psalm 25:14-15 NASB

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” Matthew 5:6 NASB

What blessing are you noticing today?

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