When I washed, I saw. ~John 9:11 (Message)
There’s a hush this morning.
Branches bow under the weight of wet white grace.
I stand robe-wrapped and slippered on the porch and drink His whispers.
Come to me all who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Giant flakes fall, and boughs droop to kiss the top of the Journey.
There’s school this morning, and the roads are messy.
Grace and I pray that the Journey hugs the road, that He hugs us as we drive.
I think about Lisa Jo’s word prompt this morning–grit.
I think about how He entered our mess, hugs us through our messes.
And as I see the beauty around me, I think about one with grit-crusted eyes.
The passed-by beggar.
Blind from birth.
Born to beg.
Jesus saw him when others who saw didn’t.
And the Light stopped in front of his darkness.
The man could not see the journey-dusted feet in front of him.
The One with earth’s grit between His toes.
But he heard his voice.
Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.
Don’t look for who to blame. Look to God.
(So He didn’t say that last line exactly, though He did kind of did in the Message.)
What did he think when he sensed Jesus stoop in front of him?
Did he recoil when he heard Jesus spit?
(How many times did Jesus spit? Or was it just one big glory glob?)
He could not see Jesus make mud pies in front of him.
He could not see him make the mess that would heal his mess.
Did the dark get darker when Jesus smeared it over his eyelids?
What did he think as he stumbled towards the pool to wash the grit from his eyes?
I once was lost but now am found, was blind, but now I see.
And I am amazed.
At how He became dusty for us.
How He sees us still–the broken, the bowed, the heavy-laden.
His ground-in-the-grit children.
How He sees us when others seem blind.
And we don’t have to sit in the dust.
He can even use the grit of our lives to polish us.
He gives us eyes to see and the glory-strength to rise above the ashes.
He.
Gives.
Us.
Rest.
Then He holds out His hand and invites us to make mud pies with Him.
We don’t do this journey alone.
Disclaimer: I have no idea how long this took. Yes, it was longer than five minutes. Yes, I edited. But Lisa-Jo did provide the prompt.
We pray that you’ll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us. ~Colossians 4:10-12 (Message)
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I appreciate your line, “His ground-in-the-grit children.” He cleans us up and makes us new. “And we don’t have to sit in the dust.” Lovely.
Visiting from The Gypsy Mama
Thank you, Elizabeth. Life sometimes just pulverizes us, doesn’t it? Amazed at what He can do with that dust.
Thank you for sharing this beautiful word. Stopped over from The Gypsy Mama.
Keep up the God work.
Hi Lori. So nice to see you, and thanks.
“glory gob”–awesome! as is that photo!
🙂
yes, he saw through all the grit, the grime. right into the heart of those who needed him most. great thoughts.
Love how you put that, Tara!
He sees us with such loving eyes – it is hard to take in. You did a wonderful job with this word Sandy. You always make beautiful pictures with your words and your camera.
Aw, thanks, friend.
“When I washed I saw” – there’s a sermon in those words.
Thanks for sharing. The words were beautiful even as we are messy. Thank God that Jesus came as a human and endured the grit and mess as we do.
What a wonderful God we serve. Awesome picture.
What grace that He would get down with us so He could pull us up.
Ah, yes. The glory-glob and the gritty, dusty truth of love in action. Thanks for this lovely writing, friend. And that picture? Makes me smile REAL big. :>)
You know, this story has become one of my very favorites. Even though the whole spit thing causes me the tiny convulsions, it is one of the most earthy, graphic, he-was-really-here-among-us pictures I think Scripture gives us. And it’s one of the passages that illustrates so well our ability to miss the point with its simplicity, and raises so many deep questions all at the same time. I love what you’ve done to illuminate it here, Sandy. What a seer you are — clearly he has spit in your eye a time or two.
He sees us when others seem blind.
I have to remind myself this time and again.
Blessings.
the bird and snow is very pretty…