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SEE HOW HE'S LOOKING AT YOU
"For God carefully watches the way
people live; He sees everything they do. - Job 34:21 Years ago, during the hot, humid days of summer
in New Orleans, there was a crippled old man named Mr. Leblanc who would sit each day in a
cane rocker on the porch of his wood shingled house. Trying to catch a breeze, he would
slowly fan himself with a piece of cardboard as he watched everyone and everything that
moved within the radius of his small world. Although
his body was infirm, his eyes were sharp and he saw everything; the people moving in and
out of his orbit and all the small dramas that took place on his street. The ones who wanted the cover of secrecy would
slyly avoid his porch by hanging their heads and crossing to the other side, for they did
not want him to read the guilt they felt if they were involved in something clandestine. Their furtive efforts did not escape his notice
however, but he would feign disinterest by rattling his Times Picayune Newspaper that he
pretended to read. There he would sit in the shade of his porch overhang, watching the neighbors go by, lifting his hand in a wave and his voice in a cheerful greeting. It was not unusual for him to advise or praise neighbors who did extraordinary things to make life better and anything beyond ordinary occurrences was fair game. The highlight of his existence was when a neighbor would pause and spend a few minutes to chat, and perhaps offer a tidbit of their lives. He seemed to store and soak up things others had no time to listen to and a simple but profound “Hmmm” along with a nod of his head showed he was carefully listening and sincerely cared. It was not the answers he gave but the obvious conclusions people came to by themselves because of a listening and sympathetic ear. In all things, he was clearly king of the block, a man who looked at everything from the vantage point of his dilapidated porch. Unfortunately the Mr. Leblancs are a rarity in this fast paced world today. We seldom find people who are willing to share, without censure, what they have learned of life, or to offer sage advice and comfort. Locked doors, cars alarms, and other high tech protection label us a closed and fearful society. But there is someone of high power who is right now looking at you with great interest and wants to share in the big as well as the little things in your life. And His knowledge far exceeds the Mr. Leblancs of this world. His name is Jesus Christ. When your world turns sour and bitter, and dreams become fragmented reminders of all you longed for that didn’t become a reality, when everything seems to spiral out of your reach, He is the only real Friend you can count on. If you take the time to look beyond your loneliness and the heaviness of the burden you carry, you will see Him standing in the shadows of your darkness just looking at you, watching you, a Friend Who steps right in and says, “If you have faith and trust in me, let me help you carry that burden. Give it to me.” His gentle, loving attention is focused on you as you go about your everyday chores. He sees whether you choose to follow His teachings or follow your own self taught ideas. He knows all about the stumbling blocks thrown in your way as you go through tribulations. He watches you with knowing eyes even as you look away into the far reaches of sin. If you ask Him to, He will lift that burden of sin and toss it away as forgotten garbage and say, “You are forgiven. Your sins have been erased”. With infinite perception, He will take you through all life’s hardships and share the weight of fears and anxieties that crush you. If you are under the cloud of a broken marriage, wallowing in the misery of betrayal, financial disasters, health issues, relationships, and even death, these heartaches are never too big for Him for these are issues He specializes in solving. Sadly, many times we all disappoint Him, thinking we are our own people in matters pertaining to us. It is when we stop depending on our own human understanding to fix our broken lives that God will do for us what we could never do for ourselves. “Proverbs 28:26 says, “He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but whoever walks wisely will be delivered.” If we hand over the control of our lives to the Lord, it is then that He will come through for us. For “The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right; His ears are open to their cries for help.” - Psalms 34:15. The key is faith. Although He is Almighty and Powerful, He can do nothing unless you let Him in and willingly hand Him the reins of your life. Perhaps you are living in a depth of depression, in a box with no windows, no doors, and no hope. Do not let the size of that box change the magnitude of your faith, for the measure of your belief and trust in Jesus Christ will lift you out of your prison and bring you into the sunshine of His blessings. Do not despair but wait on the Lord with patience. Jesus Christ can, with belief and trust in Him, turn a despairing situation into one of expectation, strength, joy, and courage to win the battles of desolation and the weight of defeat. You can feel cherished, even in this imperfect world, if you know you have a champion who is looking out for you. Old Mr. Leblanc who sat on his porch those many years ago watching everyone going by is long gone now. If you are ever in the neighborhood you will see the old rocker is still there but the cane on it is frayed and hanging loose. But as Catholic Christians, we have something greater than the kindhearted old man who looked after his neighbors. We have the Savior Who can see all things, Who is right now focusing on you. If you place control in God's hands through His Son, Jesus Christ, He will see you through the misery of chaos and confusion. Remember always you do not take life’s trip alone. Do not forget that some things you cannot fix or mend except through a master hand. Even now He is looking at you with eyes full of love and compassion and He made a way so that you can spend an eternity of joy with Him. He cared so much that He died for you! My friend, you should see how He’s looking at you!
"For the eyes
of the Lord are over the righteous." 1 Peter 3:12
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