I’m turning into my Dad. God bless him, my dad was a great man who taught me so many things. Mostly by his example, but I can look back now and appreciate the frustration he must have had when I was a teenager, and he was trying to pass on his wisdom to me.
My family spent last week on vacation in Colorado. We were surrounded by snow-peaked mountains, aspen forests and plentiful wildlife. The temps were in the mid 70’s during the day and low 40’s at night. It was hard to come home.
My three teenage grandsons were along on the trip. The first time I noticed me thinking like my dad was when I saw them unloading their game systems into the cabin. Surely, they weren’t going to play video games here. It was unfathomable to me that they wouldn’t be out enjoying the beautiful surroundings and romping on the trails.
But I was wrong. Despite my promptings, the screens and the phones won out. And then I thought back to some of our family vacations when my dad would take us to a similar place or to a historic site. He would go on-and-on about what had taken place at this location or point out the majesty of a mountain lake. I didn’t appreciate it. I missed it, just like my grandsons.
I did, finally convince them to go on a mile and a half hike through the forests. There was some complaining at first. But I began to point out something along the way that has become one of my hobbies. Identifying the wildflowers. It was a simple thing, but before long, they were playing along. They were googling on their phones and getting excited about it. They were running ahead trying to find a flower before I did. Soon, they were all three holding handfuls of flowers, planning to take them back to the cabin.
Isn’t it amazing how we can miss something right in front of us. At our two shelters, our case workers and program directors spend their days pointing out the obvious to those who have had their vision clouded by other things. It’s not that we are smarter or better than them. Their vision is just clearer. God has given them a love and a compassionate heart so that they see the best for the men, women and children they serve.
Philippians 4:10 says, “do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”
Sometimes our job is to “look out” for others.
