Illusions

A New Year = New Beginnings =  ???

We say a New Year means New Beginnings, but essentially we always bring in our old paradigms. How do we go about taking off the 'rose-colored' glasses and see with 'new eyes'. During the Christmas holidays, I went to a Christmas market at a village up the road. It's a very 'posh' town called Montreaux. They had beautiful little vendor huts selling everything from mulled wine to chestnuts roasting on an open fire, to crepes, to gifts...well, you get the picture. There was a spot in the middle of the market where you could get your photo taken. Here I am with two friends (I'm in the middle as 'santa')...the interesting thing is that you see things from a different vantage point when you are 'behind the wooden posing platform'. I saw the little girl trying to hide from her mama. I saw the old woman walking by herself with her head down. I saw the beautiful lights across Lake Geneva. I saw people glance our way but not really 'see' us.

It's the last one that caught my attention the most. How many people do you 'glance at' but don't really see. Or maybe a better question is, how many people do you see, but choose to only 'glance at' because of the time and energy it takes to become involved in people's lives. Here is my New Year's challenge to myself and to you...if you want to make a difference in this world, then you have to make a difference in peoples' lives. It's messy, takes time, takes energy, and also takes a lot of prayer and dedication. How much are you willing you put on a 'God set of lenses' to see what it is that He sees every day!