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The View From My Window

"All mankind will fear; they will proclaim the works of God and ponder what he has done."  Psalm 64:9

Last fall whenever the agony of loss was at its peak, I would lay on my bed and stare out my bedroom window.  I don't know exactly what it was about doing that that calmed me and gave me strength . . . 

Perhaps it was seeing the way the gentle breeze ruffled the leaves on the soybean plants in the field beside our house . . . 

Or maybe it was staring out into our neighbors old barn that allowed me to ponder of better days gone by and how the family unit used to be the very heartbeat of every person's life.

I still catch myself peering out my window from time to time.  I'll watch the birds jump from the grass to the stalks of grain in the field and steal away some prize morsels of wheat for a midday snack.  As I think about how our loving God so graciously supplies every need for those little birds, I'm also reminded of how He has supplied, and continues to supply, all of my needs as well.

"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not much more valuable than they?" 
Matt. 6:26

As I gaze out my window, I'm reminded of blessing after blessing that I've been given.  I often say that I'm "overly blessed" because I truly am so undeserving of the blessings he's bestowed on me.  I'm so undeserving of the many blessings that he so generously pours out that it makes me want to graciously share some of those blessings with others.

"Freely you have received, freely give." 
Matt. 10:8b

The view from my window shows me that life is good. It reminds me of my favorite brand of t-shirts that I wear.  I love to wear the "Life is Good" t-shirts for multiple reasons.  Out of all of the trivial reasons, like their vintage, well-worn feel, the main reason I like to wear them is because they proclaim positivity to a predominately negative world.  Perhaps I will encounter someone while wearing one who has a negative perspective on life.  My hope is that my shirt, in addition to my spirit and countenance, will show them that life really isn't all that bad, in fact, it's pretty good.

"A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones."
Prov. 17:22

The view from my window reminds me that it doesn't rain always.  It reminds me of the days that I would peer out the window with unmanageable tears streaming down my face from pain and despair, but

PRAISE GOD,

it's not raining anymore!!!  One of my favorite lines in my all-time favorite movie/musical, The Sound of Music, is when Maria (Julie Andrews) says to the broken-hearted Liesl, "You will cry a little, and then you wait for the sun to come out tomorrow.  It always will."  My God has never forsaken me and has always sent the sun to shine down on me after times of heavy rain.
 
"He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the
righteous and the unrighteous." 
Matt. 5:45b

I hope that as you take some time to sit back, reflect, and gaze out the window of your life that you see God's Hand all over it.  I hope you see how he's provided for you physically, spiritually, and emotionally. 

If it is raining out your window right now, I pray that you will trust in His promise to make the sun shine again.  If the sun is shining brightly on your life, praise Him and thank Him for His unwavering faithfulness to His promises! 

What does the view from your window look like?


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