Look, Listen and Feel

Take a moment to close your eyes and listen...........what do you hear?  I hear the water from the fish tank, the whirring of the ceiling fan, the air coming from the air conditioner vent and the dogs occasionally readjusting themselves on their futon.  Now close your eyes...........what do you feel?  I can feel the air from the ceiling fan touching my skin.  I can also feel my heart beating in my chest.  I can feel the movement of my chest as I take a breath in and let it out.  Notice that when you open your eyes, you can look around to find the things that you heard and felt while your eyes were closed.

Sometimes on our journey in life we tend to be in such a rush that we forget to look, listen and feel the things that are going on around us.  It is almost as if we put blinders on our peripheral vision and we just stay focused on what is directly ahead of us.  By doing this, we sometimes miss out on very important people, opportunities and things that come along our way or that God may put across our path.

I know that I have probably missed out on several things because at times I tend to do this very thing.  At times I can be very OCD (Obsessive Compulsive).  I like to plan things out and believe me when I say I get very frustrated if they don't go as planned.  I go so far as to make a list and get all of my coupons sorted and ready before I even go to the grocery store.  I color code my calendar so that at an easy glance I know what is going on just by looking at the colors.  These are just a few things that I do to hold on to some control in my life.  However, even just holding onto control of these few things may allow me to miss out on some of the important things that He may put into my path.

Let's just take a quick look at some of the beauty that our Heavenly Father has created:

• Look:  Notice the flowers, trees and birds.  Notice the wind how it moves the tree branches causing them to almost wave at you.  
• Listen:  Listen to the tree branches as they move in the wind and the rustling of the leaves.  Listen to the sweet song of the birds. 
• Feel:  Feel the slight breeze as it dances across your skin.  Feel the grass beneath your feet or the softness of the flower petals in your hand.  

This is just a tiny bit of what our God has created, but I hope it at least got you thinking of a few things.  Next time you go outside, look, listen and feel to see what else you may notice. 

As far as our "Spiritual" pantry goes we can apply the same principles as we did in the first paragraph:

• Look:  As you read your bible, look for the message that God is trying to relate to you.  I have so many highlighted areas in my bible, especially in Psalms and Proverbs that I can just flip through and read the scriptures that have touched my life.  You don't even have to look very hard.  Just open you eyes, your mind and your heart and He will do the rest.  
• Listen:  When you come across a passage that really touches you, take a moment to close your eyes and listen to what God is trying to tell you.  You will be surprised at what you may hear.  Keep your ears open as you go on with your everyday activities.  You will be surprised how many more times you will hear that same message.  
• Feel:  Trust me when I say this, you will feel it when God is trying to tell you something.  If you have listened and heard a message, you will feel something when you hear it again.  You may get a little fluttering in your belly, or goose bumps or any other number of feelings.  You may even just feel it in your heart that this is something that you know is from Him and that He wants you to know.  

This is another one of those topics that I could go on an on about, but I will just leave you with this little appetizer for now.

 The challenge for today is this:  Stop to think if you feel you have ever missed out on any blessings are opportunities.  Next:  Are you willing to take the time now to Look, Listen and Feel so that you do not miss out on any other blessings or opportunities that He has in store for you?  I am.