Home.

They say “home is where the heart is” and I fully agree. So it is safe to say, I love my home. It is where my family has lived for the last nearly twenty eight years.

It may not be the largest home on my street. Nor the one most updated. But it is home. It is where I settle in at night, can breathe a peaceful sigh, and feel the comfort of familiarity.

The day we moved in – August 3, 1991 to be exact – I walked the property line and let the feeling of ownership fill my heart. A little over a half acre and it was ours.

Every tree, every bush, and each plant on our parcel was now ours. Ours to tend to and grow and enjoy.

Every day is much the same routine for me – pour my mug of coffee, head to the family room, look out at the morning sky, and take in as many nuances as my eyes scan the yard.

Same trees. Every season different. No morning quite the same. And there’s beauty to behold every single morning.

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.

– Marcel Proust as quoted in the book Doing Life Differently by Luci Swindoll

The changes of seasons speaks to me of God’s faithfulness. The daily beauty my eyes take in each day speaks to me of His reliability. I can depend on Him to show up each and every day in my life.

“The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness;
his mercies begin afresh each morning.”
(Lamentations 3:22-23, NLT)

Our circumstances change from day to day, and so do our feelings. God will always be loving. He will always be faithful. He will always be our source of strength. He will always be our hope.

The quote has been thought provoking. Changing our scenery will only fill us with a temporary contentment. The problem lies not with  the scenery, but with our eyes.

We truly need new eyes – eyes which behold the beauty God places in front of us each day – right in the moment.

The psalmist recognized his need for better vision:

“Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in your instructions.” (Psalm 119:18, NLT)

Ad agencies recognize the power of a good commercial. Our eyes have an appetite, wanting what they see.

May our eyes feast on God’s Word, and God’s beauty each day.
And may we discover His mercies, always fresh each morning!