Believe it or not, for six years of my life, I played basketball. I’ve also coached kids in kindergarten through fourth grade. I remember lining up six or seven players on one side of the gym, each with a basketball, and holding up different numbers of fingers from the other side of the gym. As they dribbled across the floor, they had to call out the numbers that I was flashing at them. This drill trained them to dribble without looking at the ball, keeping their eyes up.
There are a few reasons why it’s important to keep your eyes up in basketball. For one thing, if you are staring at the ball, you are far more likely to run right into a defender. He’ll steal the ball from you, and you won’t even see him coming.
On the flip side, if you’re busy staring at the ball instead of keeping your eyes on the game in front of you, you won’t see which of your teammates are open. You could have a teammate right under the hoop, wide open, waving his arms at you, but if your eyes are down, you’re going to miss the opportunity to assist in scoring a basket.
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The streets here in Zolano, Honduras, are a mess. They are dirt roads, full of deep ruts, big stones, sometimes rivulets of water, and always lots of trash. When we walk to church in our flip-flops, we step carefully, eyes to the ground, trying to avoid slipping on a discarded potato chip bag or stubbing our toes on a sneaky rock. It’s important to watch where you’re going. If you don’t, you might get hurt. Or, even worse, suffer the embarrassment of tripping and falling.
We went on a walk a couple of days ago to a nearby church way up on a hill. I watched the ground for most of the walk. And then, we reached the top, and I lifted up my eyes and looked around.
It was beautiful.
After taking in the view and snapping a few photos, we continued. We walked higher…and found ourselves on a basketball court. And around the basketball court, there was an even more beautiful view. There were mountains and trees and people’s houses, and the sky was big and glorious.
We all get stuck in the road sometimes. We look around and all we see is trash and and brokenness and the potential for injury. In fear, or in trying to avoid pain or embarrassment, we keep our eyes glued to the nastiness that’s directly in front of us. It’s not until we lift up our eyes and see things from God’s perspective that we realize that the sucky parts are small and the beautiful parts are huge. There’s wisdom in being able to identify and avoid the danger in front of us, yes, but if that’s all we see, it’s just a sad life.
There are a few reasons why it’s important to keep your eyes up in life. For one thing, if you are staring at the ground, you are far more likely to make yourself an easy target for the enemy. He’ll steal your joy from you, and you won’t even see him coming.
If you’re busy staring at all the things you don’t like about your life and everything that’s going wrong instead of keeping your eyes on what God is doing, you won’t see the beautiful things that he’s trying to show you. Sometimes it’s something beautiful just for you, and sometimes it includes people around you. You could have a friend, family member, or neighbor in desperate need of your attention, but if your eyes are down, you’re going to miss the opportunity to help someone. You may even miss the opportunity to have a conversation with someone that could lead them to Jesus.
For me, keeping my eyes up this month looks like being thankful for all the wonderful things, like our loving host family, sweet kids at church, good food, and good friends. It means not giving too much mind space to things like duck poop and dirty water and heat. What does it look like for you?
Eyes up, everyone, and carry on.
I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
Psalms 121:1-2
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
Colossians 4:2
PRAYER REQUEST UPDATES
Shannon is doing much better! So much better, in fact, that she’s returning to Honduras tomorrow to finish the Race with us!! 😀
Pastor Gregorio’s surgery went well! No more pain!
NEW REQUEST: On Monday, Pastor Gregorio’s elderly parents, his sister, and his niece were in a bus accident. The driver lost control and the bus flipped on its side. His mom and niece are doing well, but his father broke his leg and is still in the hospital. His sister suffered a broken bone as well. Please pray for their quick recovery!
