"Sometimes while I'm talking to God, He'll show me something about myself in such a way that I have to laugh at my own humanity and how funny I must look to Him." - Donna

Donna...just found your blog...I absolutely love it! And I love your singing! I'm at work right now and it was just exactly what I needed to hear to help me make it through tonight! Thanks for your ministry here!
- Robert

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Monday, October 25, 2004

I Can See Clearly Now


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All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God knows me now. - I Corinthians 13:12b nlt

Big, sparkly watches are in vogue. While watching the shopping channel recently, I saw the prettiest, most sparkly one yet, and as a bonus, it came with several different colored straps to coordinate with outfits.

When the watch arrived a few days later, I tore open the packaging. It didn’t sparkle like I thought it would, but I liked it anyway. Running late for church, I chose the appropriate strap, donned my new watch, and ran out the door to church.

I sat down in the pew next to Rachel. She’s thirteen and spotted my purchase. “Cool!” she said, and I felt less like an old lady for just a second. The backside of the watch felt clammy, so I took it off and handed to Rachel for inspection. She giggled, and said, “Donna, you forgot to take the plastic wrapping off the back.” We laughed, and then I whispered, “It’s not as sparkly as I wanted, but it’s cute, isn’t it?”

Upon hearing my observation, Rachel dissolved into laughter. “Didn’t you notice you’d left the plastic film on the front, too?” With that, she peeled back the protective piece of film put on to protect the top during delivery. I put my glasses on and watched as she revealed the brightest, shiniest face I’d seen. It did look like the one on television! Without my reading glasses, I’d been clueless. I felt like an old lady again.

When Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth, he said, “We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!” (I Corinthians 13:12 msg)

I hate having to wear glasses. I squint, and sometimes feel as if I’m looking through fog. This comes in handy when I’m inspecting for wrinkles, but not so convenient when trying to tell the time.

God’s glory shines so bright we cannot look upon His face. We peer through a mist. For now our understanding is limited. But one day, we will see God clearly. And as the old song goes, “We’ll understand it better by and by.” When we’re in heaven, we’ll know things instantly and our knowledge will be full and complete. We will know God just as He knows us. Won’t it be wonderful when we will be able to see God clearly – face to face! And in heaven- I won’t need glasses. Praise the Lord!

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the promise of Heaven, and the anticipation of seeing You face to face. Help me to be faithful to share Your love with others. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.


7 comments:

Anonymous said...

"I can see clearly now, the rain is gone. I can see all obstacles in my way." When I saw your subject line, this song popped in my head. It bought back a lot of younger memories of times when the fog was thick.

I, too, have found myself lately having to wear my reading glasses, but they're either upstairs or downstairs when I need them. I then have to resort to asking my ten-year-old to read medicine labels for me. Then I ask myself - when did this happen? I have had reading glasses since I was seven, and did without them until a couple of years ago.

I sympathies with you when going from feeling young to feeling old. A song from earlier times comes on the radio and I start to dance and sing to it. I am back in the 60's or 70's, or even 80's - feeling good. Then my seven-year-old stares at me and says, "Mom, you're weird."

But after it is all said and done, my main feeling is that I have never been better in my life. God has blessed me with a wonderful family and a good home. I thank him every day of my life, and especially during Mass on Sunday for the way my life has turned out. Even being divorced from my first husband, and if I had to do it all over again, I would do the same, because in order to get to where I am today, I had to go through yesterday first.

Marilyn

Anonymous said...

Terrific analogy. Love the personal touch. Although your conclusions are a bit puzzling:

>> When we’re in heaven, we’ll know things instantly and our knowledge will be full and complete.

>> We will know God just as He knows us.

Is this from the scripture somewhere, or tradition? Just curious where you got these ideas from, that's all. No biggie. I hope they're true.

I think the analogy may be even better in relationship with the resurrection of our body - peeling back the cover and revealing what's been accomplished on the inside. Kinda like Gideon's army...they had the torches inside the clay pots...the trumpet sounded, the pots were smashed and the light was revealed - then it was time for war!

In any case, I really like your style. I'm going to bookmark this page and read some more. Thanks for the link.

- Dave Wagner, (aka DaveWags from Faithwriters)

Donna J. Shepherd said...

Marilyn, I've been humming that song since I wrote this up! lol!

Glenniah, I hunt for glasses all the time. I usually have them hanging on the front of whatever I'm wearing, and I bought a pair of those teensy ones that fit into a tube for my purse to have on hand for emergencies.

Hi, Dave. Your analogy is a good one, too.

Paul wrote to church at Ephesus: "I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better."

Because of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, even in our earthly bodies, we can get to know God better and better.

In Heaven, we will have glorified bodies. I derived my conclusions from the Scripture used in this devotional (I Corinthians 13:12) and also I John 3:2, "Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." and Philippians 3:20-21 niv: "But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body."

Hallelujah! Our glorified bodies will be capable of so much more!

Thanks for stopping by. Once again, congratulations on your book! And thanks for bookmarking. I look forward to hearing your thoughts again. - Donna

Anonymous said...

That's a good one!

S

Anonymous said...

Donna,

Loved this piece! "I Can See Clearly Now" helped to open my eyes and mind as to what's around me. I've done the same thing as you, pertaining to your watch, several times. What a great story in relation to God and the clarity He brings to all matters--great or small.

Some articles are remembered for a short time while some are remembered for a long, long time. This article will be with me a lifetime--it impressed my soul, so...

God Bless, Donna!

P.S. Thank you so much for viewing my article! I love spreading His glorious news!

Anonymous said...

I love the devotional! Reminds of times when I have had a garment tag still attached while I am out and about with the new outfit on—looking quite ridiculous I might add! Ha ha ha!

Thanks for the devotionals—I always pass them on to friends here at school and others.

WE appreciate you!

Cheryl

Anonymous said...

Donna,

You sure have been busy. It's great to see how God has been blessing your work.

Keep up the good writing.

Jan
http://mercyandpercy.blogspot.com/

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