Guess Who’s Watching?
“For a man’s ways are before the
eyes of the Lord and he ponders all his paths.”
“The eyes of the Lord are in
every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.” *
How did he know their names? I wondered.
Then he explained that he had seen a picture of them posted on our neighborhood
website and recognized them when we walked by. That solved the mystery.
Al had posted a “help” notice on the
website one afternoon after both dogs had gotten out of the gate and had run
away. Their pictures and names along with our contact information went out to
several hundred people. I had already forgotten about the incident, so it was
interesting that he still remembered reading the post.
I
explained how they were found quickly and how relieved we were. It was a great
answer to prayer! Then, he went on his way and we continued on ours. A
stranger—and yet he was familiar with something personal to us.
On yet another walk, I happened to greet
a person on the sidewalk and was surprised when he asked, “Are you the lady who
was trying to unwrap her dog from the pole at the corner of Bates and Kinross
yesterday?”
Yes,
I was the lady! TJ, our black lab was leading the way for Teddy and me, when he
managed to wrap himself around the pole of a street sign, not once but twice. It
was quite a feat with a large golden retriever on the other half of the double
leash, and me hanging on to the looped end! Untangling him wasn’t easy!
I was unaware that anyone had been watching
and felt embarrassed. It so happened that the young man lived a few houses away
from the corner and was out in the front yard. Quite entertaining—for him
anyway!
Another time, a friendly lady talked
with us as she worked out in her yard. When I told her where we lived, pointing
in the direction of our house she asked, “Is your husband the man who prunes
the trees along the cemetery fence?” It
was surprising since she lived a couple of blocks away from our house, which
happens to be next to the cemetery.
Well, it turned out that neighbors had
been watching Al’s handiwork. It all began by clearing away the shrubs blocking
our view as we backed the car down the driveway and onto the street. That project
expanded to pruning back the overgrown mass of trees and shrubs along the cemetery
fence—at least until someone came out of one of the houses across the street
and told Al to stop, that he didn’t want to see into the cemetery!
All of these conversations have
convinced me that people watch our actions, more than we know. A member of our
former church in Springville, California, said that she had followed me around Walmart
one day to see if I was really as nice to people as I seemed to be on Sunday
mornings! Yikes!
Remember the story of how Jesus and
Nathaniel met in John 1: 44-48? When Nathaniel’s friend, Philip, told Nathaniel
that he had seen the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, Nathaniel exclaimed,
“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” He went along with Philip anyway
to see this “Messiah” for himself.
However, when he approached Jesus, he was
astonished by Jesus’ claim… “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree
before Philip called you.” How could that be? Maybe Nathaniel wished he could
take back his comment about Jesus’ home town!
Our God sees us whether it is night or
day, regardless of where we happen to be. He is all knowing and always present.
There is nothing hidden from his sight…a truth difficult for us to comprehend.
God’s omnipresence should greatly impact the way we live our lives. Does it?
“I sing because I'm happy,
I sing because I'm free,
For His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.” (Bill Gaither, “His
Eye is on the Sparrow”)
* Proverbs 5: 21; 15:3 NIV
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