Ever caught someone doing something that they thought was done in secret?
I remember a day when I stood at the front doors of the high school I work at and I observed something that a student thought was done without anyone else seeing.
A student, with numerous, very real struggles, was waiting for his parent to pick them up, after school. Another student came along, with a bag from Tim Horten’s. As she came closer to the boy they made eye costact and they smiled at each other, then he looked down at his feet. When he diverted his eyes from hers, she looked instantly saddened, disappointed. She then stopped in front of the boy, and offered her bag, filled with some sort of sugary treat, to him. He looked up, surprised, then smiled. She smiled back, said something to him, and walked away smiling even brighter.
What she did will never win an award, a job, a good GPA.
What she did, was not to raise her profile or position.
What she did will never even be incorporated into her resume.
To her knowledge, it was simply an interaction between two individuals, and her payment was the smile on the boy’s face, which was all the payout she needed.
But, her actions were seen, and not just by my inquiring eyes.
Matthew reminds us of the value of doing things out of the eyesight, and limelight, of others :
“When you do something for someone else, don’t call attention to yourself … When you help someone out, don’t think about how it looks. Just do it—quietly and unobtrusively. That is the way your God, who conceived you in love, working behind the scenes, helps you out. And when you come before God, don’t turn that into a theatrical production either … Do you think God sits in a box seat?
Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.”
Matthew 6:2-6
“The focus will shift from you to God”
I love that line!
Our world notices, awards and sits on a pedestal what they see … fair enough. But God, can and does see everything … the good, the bad and the ugly. He sees us, and knows our hearts. He sees what we do in public and in private. And his reward is the presence of his grace in our lives.
God wants our hearts to be in tune with his, not for our earthly benefit, but for our eternal walk with him.
As I looked outside my window the sky was the brightest blue, and the street lined with so many pink blossoms that I felt I could almost smell their scent through the window.
With each day, each assignment and event our youngest son (and our family) is moving closer to the end of his high school years.
I simply couldn’t remember this feeling before.
itsawonderfilledlife 