3-Dimensional View

I love optical illusions. Those drawings and creations that look like one thing at first glance but if you keep looking at them they morph completely into something else. You’ve seen them. The drawing that looks like a curvy vase but if you look long enough the vase disappears and the silhouettes of two lovers kissing appears.

Some of the craziest optical illusions have to be those 3-D posters which were popular in the early nineties. “Magic-eye” posters were brain splitting. Standing in front of one they looked like nothing special, just a bunch of crazy colorful computer generated lines or colors. Pretty, but nothing great.

But if you waited patiently and focused properly suddenly a 3-D image would appear before you eyes. Instead of a field of green a grasshopper becomes visible. These posters were really fun. For example try: Grasshopper 3-D Stereogram

As neat as these posters could be, it was hard to get the hang of seeing the hidden image. My friends kept telling me to “look through” the poster, don’t look at the poster. Yeah, right, what does that mean? I was told to “soften my focus” or “cross my eyes slightly” and then the image would be revealed. One friend even traced the 3-D image with her fingers for me so I knew what I was looking for – big help that was (not).

The thing is no one can help me see something that is hidden. All the coaching, helpful tips and pointers are nice but it's not going to do any good. You cannot see it for me. I have to do it for myself.

When I decided to tune out my helpful friends, relax, walk away from it for a bit and then try not so hard to “not look AT the poster” the craziest thing happened – I saw the 3-D image suddenly appear – it was a ship and lighthouse. (Slightly crossing my eyes did help.)

It happened so quickly and the ship and lighthouse were so clear and 3-dimentional it kind of startled me at first. One second there was nothing and the next – boom – the thing I was looking for was right before my eyes. The first time took a while but from then on whenever I looked at the poster I saw the ship and lighthouse right away. I learned a new way to see things.

You know God is like that too. He hides Himself from us at times. But like the ship and lighthouse, just because I cannot see Him does not mean He is not there. Someone can explain Him and point Him out and tell me how to “see” Him but they can’t see Him for me. God is someone (something depending on your point of view) that must be experienced personally. And that is exactly the way He wants it.

There were times growing up when all my friends seemed to have this knowledge and relationship with God that I didn’t have. Despite what I thought were my best efforts God and I were not close friends.

During college and after I attended bible studies with my friends, I went to church, had many deep discussions on God and faith but something was missing. I could not see the God that others did. I tried mightily but just could not get there. Then I tried a different way. Perhaps “try” is the wrong word; essentially, I gave up on God and I ever getting close.

And don’t you know it, as soon as I tuned out all the well meaning advice and tips, relaxed and walked away from Him and tried NOT to see Him, God suddenly showed up. That was Him suddenly showing up for the first time bringing my vine back to life, which I wrote about in my last post. Never would have thought to look for Him there!

I can’t see God for you. I can’t tell you how to get close to Him. I can’t reveal Him to you. And you can’t do those things for me. We have to do those things for ourselves – with His help. And sometimes it takes learning a new way to “see” before God reveals new things – of Himself and of ourselves – to us.

Like that ship and lighthouse, He is always there even when He seems hidden from view. But unlike them God is no illusion. He is as real as the paper the poster is printed on. The next time you’re looking for God try to relax and let Him reveal Himself to you. You might be amazed at what suddenly gets revealed.

And the best part is He won’t make you “slightly cross your eyes” to see Him.

~

Pruning Season

It’s Autumn and that means its harvest time. Harvest time is a time for celebration. The hard work is over and the bounty is here. I suppose that’s why there are so many harvest parties and festivals this time of year. (Not to mention the ritual of the crowning of the many varieties of Harvest Queens complete with fancy sash.)

If we look only to the harvest, we would think it all so easy – all this bounty-gathering. But alas that is not so. Sowing is the key. But along with the sowing there is a step of even greater importance to the harvest – the pruning.

I am not a farmer and I am not a gardener. But none of that stops me from desiring a bountiful and beautiful garden. Several years ago I attempted to beautify my home and garden by planting many shrubs, caladium bulbs and plants.

Of particular interest to me were these lovely vines I planted along my wrought-iron fence. The vines were to grow up and along the fence and flower in Spring and Summer. I tended mightily to my garden and vines. Watering, weeding, fertilizing and mulching. To my dismay everything began to grow and flourish as planned. It was wonderful.

However, the vines were getting a bit out of control. There were branches going in directions that I did not want. Pruning was needed. I got out my hedge clippers and began pruning away unwanted branches. And encouraging other branches.

The vine looked so much better after being pruned. But as I more closely inspected one of the vines I noticed that I had cut the main stalk. I had pruned so much that I had cut clear through the vine’s base. Now the all the branches growing from that vine would die. Crushing blow.

I did not dig up the stalk base as I was hopeful that I could get it to grow again. However, my hopes for that were dashed when my “helpful” neighbor was pouring weed killer on the sidewalk and poured some in my bed (and on the vine stump) to kill weeds in the bed. The vine stump showed no signs of life for months on end. It just turned grey, brittle and lifeless.

About eight months later God lead me, for the first time in my life, to a passage in the bible. Sitting in my bed, I felt compelled to open the Good Book and read. Never really had that compulsion in the past but I went with it. The scripture I went directly to was John 15:1-8:

1) I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2) He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3) You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4) Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

5) I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6) If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7) If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8) This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

I instantly began to laugh as I thought of my job at pruning. I hoped that when God pruned He was much more adept at it and didn’t kill what He set out to help bear more fruit.

The very next morning as I let my dog out I glanced at my errant vine stump wishing that I had the skill of an expert that could have helped it to bear more flowers. And I almost passed flat out at what I saw. The vine was growing! Eight months after getting cut within inches of its life and then that life gets poisoned to death – the vine was sprouting new branches. And as my Heavenly Father as my witness, that growth was not there the day before.

The vine grew into a beauty with long, lovely branches with dazzling flowers. Its harvest was bountiful for many years. What took place with my vine, God does for me. As I have been sowing God has been pruning. He has been pruning me the for last few years. And it hurts more than anything I’ve ever experienced. The good news is the pruning does come to an end. Pruning lasts only for a season.

Harvest time is nearing. And when it’s time there will be a celebration fit for a harvest queen. I just hope it comes complete with a fancy sash.

~

Thought for the Day

You have to face the clouds to see the silver lining.

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