Have you ever felt blanketed with emotions that carry you away to places you really don’t want to be? So busy you hardly have time to breathe, let alone sit quietly and listen. It’s like looking through veiled windows longing for connection, yet failing to truly see and hear.

Sitting by my bedroom window I could see the sun shining through the spotted gum in my front yard. It felt a million miles away. I heard the birds, the wind, the cars going past, the crows cawing, the sound of the bathroom exhaust fan. But they were all just sounds.

What was I really listening for?

As the school bus went past it reminded me that our days on earth are moving past so quickly and I was momentarily overwhelmed by a wave of sadness. The crest of the wave bearing down on me as I inhaled deeply, then exhaled completely, listening, tuning in, and waiting.

Another bus…

More moments gone! Looking out my bedroom window I found myself feeling so disconnected. The sun shone so beautifully through my spotted gum. It looked so inviting I could imagine it’s consuming warmth on my back, and yet it was blurry, shrouded by a thin piece of fabric that I couldn’t even see.

Then, as I looked through the sheer curtain hanging over my bedroom window, I had a moment of perfect clarity. I saw the curtain! I’d felt so disconnected because I was looking through a veiled mask in the form of my bedroom curtain.

And there it was, the voice I’d been listening for; my father God saying, “Step back and see, you’re looking through the mirror dimly.” Then, looking through the curtain I noticed the shadow cast by my spotted gum, and the reflections on my car as I began to tune in to the sounds from my neighborhood.

The wave passed. The overwhelm eased. The longing for connection was comforted by words from the Bible saying,  “Now you see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then you will see everything with perfect clarity. All you know is partial and incomplete, but then you will know everything completely, just as God knows you completely.” (1 Corinthians 13:11-12). The overwhelming sense of sadness bearing down on me was an imperfect, puzzling reflection. It had no substance or truth; it was simply a veiled reflection of my current emotions.

We can be so tempted to launch ourselves into the day without taking the opportunity to anchor our feelings, desires, and cares in the truth. Thankfully, God knows us completely. As I inhaled deeply, then exhaled completely, my breath relinquished the sadness. God took care of my emotions as I imagined the warmth of the sun on my back. He gave me ears to hear the sweet melody of birds singing and children laughing in my neighborhood. And, in those few moments as I waited, He provided perfect peace.