I, Melissa Taylor, have a keen sense of awareness to my environment. I always have and I think I know why but, I wont get into that right now.
I can tell you how many cars I've passed on the highway, what color and style of car. I can tell you if I have passed the lady in the green shirt at the supermarket 3 times and in what isles etc. etc.
I also like to people watch....So I notice things.
Today as I was driving home from work I was at the corner of I35 and Howard and saw something that has changed my life! It only took 5 secs for the image of this to shake me to my very core and restructure what I think about my walk with God.
If you have ever had to turn right on I35 and Howard (heading north) you know that the intersection there is crazy... and they have just added 2 more crazy lanes and still the intersection remains busy and chaotic. And in my opinion hard to cross even in my car!
Today I saw a man standing at the light waiting to cross... I waited to let him cross and as he crossed it was as if time slowed down and everything was in slow motion before my eyes but yet it was all in real-time. I dont know how to explain it other than; you know in a movie when the guy on the basketball team has 1 second on the clock to make the winning shot, not to mention he has to make the shot from across on the opposite side he needs to be on. The shot then goes into slow-motion everything slows down.... the camera show a close up of his face looking at the goal, the ball bounces slowly and with each time it bounces on the hardwood floor it creates an slow echo.... then the he shoots and the ball dramatically flies through the air in slow-mo.... BUT THEN, he makes the shot and it goes back to the normal pace as all cheer in victory....That moment is like what I experienced today.
In the moment it took him to leave the curb he was standing on and cross in front of me this is what I learned; I hope I will NEVER be the same.
This man was visually impaired (blind), yet he was about to cross a very dangerous section of one of the busiest highways. All he was equipped with was his walking stick, his feet and his ears......as he walked I watched him wait on the curb and listen for a gap of silence (meaning no cars coming) then he he put his walking stick before him and moved it on the ground before him back and forth..... back and forth and for a second once he reached the other curb up and down (to feel for the height for his next step) then he resumed back to moving the stick back and forth before him and went on his way!
I was left in awe. In fact, the car behind me honked after I zoned out and was stuck at the corner baffled by what I saw..... I've seen this senario before and it always amazes me but this time it has stuck with me and I can not shake it so here I am at 1 am to tell you how this scene has changed my outlook.
You see, that stick is what the Holy Spirit should be in our lives...
wait... Im gonna stop and warn you here; this may come across as a mother who is so excited about her childs first haircut- you know the mom, she is ecstatic about babies first haircut but to the rest of the world could care less? This may be only exiting to me but, I need to tell someone or Im gonna explode :)
So back to the point.....The walking stick is designed to be super sensitive to what is to come for the person trusting it! That is what it is for, to be the eyes for the visually impaired. It will tell the person using it when it is okay to take the next step and how, does it need to be a small step or a large step. It will tell you when you are at a cross-roads. It will tell you when to step up and when to slow down and be cautious but, the person using it must fully be fully aware of what the stick is sensing and then trust its leading! It is an entire support system and vital to survival for the visually impaired - the walking stick is not optional, it is a MUST!
It was as if the Lord said so loudly, "That is the what the Holy Spirit is Melissa"! The holy spirit will guide you when you are unsure. The HS will tell you to be cautious, slow down, step up....
It is a must that you be sensitive to the Holy Spirits leading.... and that you trust and that you obey where you are being led. The HS will not lead you wrong, you can only go wrong by not following the leading of the HS! You can also go wrong by only being led by what you see.
The Word of God tells us: let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves. Gal 5:16
I begin to think about the fact that the guy didnt need a stick behind him because where he had been did not matter - it only mattered where he was going!
Also notice that we need to learn to stop / listen for direction / then obey the leading!
What I saw today spoke volumes to me, I have not been able to shake it and I had to stop and pray: Lord help me to be so so sensitive to the holy Spirits leading. Help me to follow and to trust where I am being led at all times. Help me Lord to not lean on my own understanding and to not be lead by by what I see in the natural, but instead to fully rely on your truth and your Word to let the Holy Spirit be my guide......
Help me to be visually impaired not spiritually impaired!
I hope I portrayed this in a way that speaks to you in the volumes it spoke to me!
Dont trust your eyes today instead- Be led my the spirit!
-missa
I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:14
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