Glimpse

A cross section of a larger work on sheep vellum

The apple of His eye. The eye of the storm. Seeing eye to eye. Take a peek. Only a glance. At first sight. Don’t look at me. I see you! Watch out.

I have a thing about eyes. A favorite feature to teach when stressing the importance of getting it right. The glare, the highlight and emotion are all aspects to pay attention to when doing eyes. What is it about the eyes?

Communication happens when 2 people look at each other at the same time. As a teacher I can spot an introvert by the eyes. As a Nana I see the dreams in the eyes of the child.

When you ask someone …“ Are you okay?” you are not looking at their feet. You ask the question based upon their eyes.

My friend Michael had no sight at all from the time he was 8. Michael is an amazing musician and singer from Hawaii. When in a conversation with Michael, he looks up as if to the sky and speak to me, but he knew I saw him. He knew despite his dark glasses, I was looking at his eyes. It is not necessarily about being able to see. To me, eyes are the entrance to our heart. Tears of water whether they be sadness, grief, laughing or joy, flow from the eyes.

All these little “views” of mine are leading to one point. I am not in the habit of handing money to the people on the corner who hold signs expressing they are hungry or homeless. However, there is that brief second where my car is stopped at the light. I look over and see the person asking for change. Our eyes meet. I suddenly find myself experiencing an encounter of human to human. We are validated as being alive. I am sitting comfortably in a car that I own, and he or she is on the side of the road with a cardboard sign they made.

I am convicted. My conscience is stimulated to a place where it tells my heart to give with compassion. All because of the eyes. God knew what He was doing.

Two humans communicating without words. 4 eyes meeting for the first and probably last time. Without speaking, this person is telling me “I am in need to the point of desperation, and you might be able to help me just a little”.

If we cannot see, truly see the people God places in our midst, why are we even here?