Hi Parents,
Seeing is different from perceiving something with all its attributes and qualities. We can see something with our eyes but still have some measure of selective blindness when it comes to understanding it in its fullness. This selective blindness can affect our interactions with people. Our hurried lives can limit our ability to see people in all their complexity and beauty. Instead, we look for what we expect or need from another person. Most of the time we are not being mean-spirited; this habit is simply a way of organizing our world. But this practice does not deepen our understanding of ourselves, others, or God.
In Isaiah 43:19, God invites us to see differently: "I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?" God invites us to see with a spirit of patient curiosity. Judgment and curiosity cannot coexist. When we judge people, we may see them, but we see them with blinders on. We see what we are looking for with few exceptions. This kind of seeing can inhibit our ability to be a transforming expression of God's love to them. It can also inhibit our ability to be transformed by God through other people.
When we make assumptions about people, we limit them and limit the way God might be active in the relationship. On the other hand, if we can be curious about people, we are much more likely to engage them with questions, sensitivity, and understanding. Being curious helps us to see people, but it also frees us to see the movement of God in their lives and in our own.
Ask your child...
Take some time to think about the people who drive you crazy or whom you avoid at all costs. Consider what might be going on beneath their annoying habits. When have you taken the time to discover how special another person is? What might happen if you made this a habit?
Challenge your child...
Reveal what's real. Letting someone see the "real you" means being open and vulnerable. Dare to make yourself vulnerable and to show others the amazing person God created you to be.
Prayer...
God teach us to look beyond appearances and to see people's hearts as you do. Help us to love others inside and out. Amen.
Seeing is different from perceiving something with all its attributes and qualities. We can see something with our eyes but still have some measure of selective blindness when it comes to understanding it in its fullness. This selective blindness can affect our interactions with people. Our hurried lives can limit our ability to see people in all their complexity and beauty. Instead, we look for what we expect or need from another person. Most of the time we are not being mean-spirited; this habit is simply a way of organizing our world. But this practice does not deepen our understanding of ourselves, others, or God.
In Isaiah 43:19, God invites us to see differently: "I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?" God invites us to see with a spirit of patient curiosity. Judgment and curiosity cannot coexist. When we judge people, we may see them, but we see them with blinders on. We see what we are looking for with few exceptions. This kind of seeing can inhibit our ability to be a transforming expression of God's love to them. It can also inhibit our ability to be transformed by God through other people.
When we make assumptions about people, we limit them and limit the way God might be active in the relationship. On the other hand, if we can be curious about people, we are much more likely to engage them with questions, sensitivity, and understanding. Being curious helps us to see people, but it also frees us to see the movement of God in their lives and in our own.
Ask your child...
Take some time to think about the people who drive you crazy or whom you avoid at all costs. Consider what might be going on beneath their annoying habits. When have you taken the time to discover how special another person is? What might happen if you made this a habit?
Challenge your child...
Reveal what's real. Letting someone see the "real you" means being open and vulnerable. Dare to make yourself vulnerable and to show others the amazing person God created you to be.
Prayer...
God teach us to look beyond appearances and to see people's hearts as you do. Help us to love others inside and out. Amen.
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