Eyes Wide Open.....

September Reading Plan: Psalm 31-60

September Memory Verse: Psalm 34:1
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"They did not conquer the land with their swords; it was not their own strong arm that gave them victory. It was your right hand and strong arm and the blinding light from your face that helped them, for you loved them." Psalm 44:3

God has been doing something to my heart over the past few months. Since last November, actually.

I confessed it to my prayer girls recently, and now I will confess to all of you.

He is literally crumbling my heart.  My eyes have been opened to things I never saw before. Sometimes, I want to close them back.

I have a very close friend that started fostering children this year. She told me the exact same thing this past Saturday evening. "Sometimes, I wish I could just go back to being comfortable. My eyes have been opened to the hurting, and it is very uncomfortable", she said.

When God gets a hold of your heart, it literally crumbles. It feels like a pulverization process. It becomes tender and delicate, and easy to bruise.

That's what's happening here. With me.

Tears come almost daily now. I see things that I never noticed before.

For example, I was in a local fast food restaurant recently. I noticed the manager. She was small, with a petite build. She was so friendly. Several times she asked us if everything was okay.

I then saw her cleaning the table behind us. She was so precise, so intentional, about making that table clean. As I saw her lean over to brush the crumbs off of the seat, I broke down crying. Yep. See what I mean?

God prompted me to pray for her. Right then, right there. Not out loud, but in my heart.

I wondered what her life was like outside of the restaurant. Was she loved? Was she a mother? Was she married? Was she.....happy?

Her life inspired me that day. I saw the passion in her eyes for making sure others were taken care of. She was a true servant.

She was literally living this verse out:

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,  since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." Colossians 3:23-24

The next day I was in my local grocery story. The cashier never made eye contact with me. She seemed sad. I tried to make conversation with her, it didn't work out too well. I prayed for her immediately. God was prompting me again to pray on behalf of His people.

Soon after, my foster mother friend gave me some details of the child that was just placed in their home. Again, my heart crumbled some more.

On the way to take my kids to school the next morning, I had a long talk with my children. I shared with them the stories of the broken families, broken homes, broken children that surround them. The heartbreak they endure.

I encouraged them to look for children around them at school. Lonely faces. Distant eyes. Withdrawn behavior.

Seek them out, I pleaded. Talk to them. Smile at them. They are hurting. Pray for them.

I want my kids to have opened eyes. I want them to see those in need. I want them to do something. I want them to pray.

This week we will be intentional about .....

Praying for our community.

We are all surrounded by great needs. Great hurts. Great pain.

Our prayers are a bridge to Jesus for our community.

Will you be a part of building this bridge?

How can we do this?

Start praying for your cashier. Your bank teller. Your child's teacher. Your fellow co-workers. Your students. Your waitress. The family sitting next to you at church. Your mail carrier. Your trash pick-up people.

Pray for anyone that comes across your path each day.

Get ready for some big walls to crumble in your heart. Get ready for your eyes to start burning due to God prying them open to the world around you.  The people who were just "people", now become those you will fervently pray for.

Prayer changes our hearts. Prayer opens our eyes.

The greatest way to show love to others is to pray for them.


my eyes are still burning,



jill