Turn Your Eyes Away From Yourself

Turn your eyes away from yourself and begin to look at those who are hurting. They are all around you. If you have feelings of loneliness, yes; they are lonely too. If you have your down times, remember they become depressed too. Just as you have your aches and pains, they might find it hard to get out of bed some mornings too. If you haven’t slept all night long because of worries, just go to that neighbor who also has the darkest circles under their eyes and encourage them with a good word, before their day begins. What a lift we can bring to others, if we only get our eyes off of ourselves.

Are you paying too much for your medication? So do the majority you see walking in the mall. Are you worried about one of your children? Chances are, everyone has at least one child they pray for more than the others.

Does your heart break at times over the mistakes you have made in the past? When you get a little bit of age on you, many people regret the decisions they made in the wildness of their youth. They wonder what kind of marbles they had for brains, just like you. Do you get nostalgic at times? Some cannot look at pictures of their loved ones, without weeping for them. They not only miss them terribly, but they wish they had done more for them, before they passed away.

Are there haunting memories of secrets you harbor within your heart that no one knows about, except God? Join the club, most people have many such things; they have decided to take to the grave with them.

Are there times, when you do not know how to deal with the anger you feel about the injustice, cruelty and inhumane decisions in the world? We are living in an angry society. Look at the way most people drive today. Everyone is in a hurry to die, it is called road rage.

Were you raised without a father? So were over 50% of the people you see today. Were you abused? The statistics are even larger. Were you raped? So were approx. 3 out of ten women you see walking around today. Divorced? Most people you meet today have been divorced at least once and remarried.

Did you lose every materialistic item you had in that storm or flood? Think of Katrina, think of those who not only lost their homes, but their loved ones too.

When we think about it, when we get our eyes off of ourselves an on others, we are looking at other people who are struggling too in one way or another. Some of their struggles might be worst than ours, some not as bad, but they are all wrestling with something in their lives. When we reach out and help them in someway, are we not helping ourselves in the process? Is not our brother only a reflection of our own lives?

Jesus never said life would be fair. But he did promise to take us through it, and be with us during the whole journey.

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” Mt.28:19-20