Four-Eyed Monsters

My all-time favorite TV series? The old Dick Van Dyke Show. I've even toyed with the idea of someday buying a house like the Petrie's, decorating it exactly like theirs and then opening a bed and breakfast inn for those who loved the show. We could even have parties for our guests in the evenings which resembled the great parties Rob and Laura had. Fun times filled with song, dance and stand-up comedy (I like to dream big.)

Anyway, my very favorite episode was the one with the walnuts and the people from the planet, Twilo. The Twilo-ites looked like us except they had no thumbs and four eyes--two in the front and two in the back.

Sometimes I feel like a Twilo-ite when it comes to the four eyes bit. Sometimes I appear to have two eyes in the back of my head: eyes which are always looking back:

to where I've been,
to days when I was misunderstood,
to people who offended me,
to old, wordly kind of thinking,
to old behaviors which God no longer lets me get away with,
to old fears and worries.

I only want two eyes--the two new ones God gives to those who love Him and learn to see things His way. Eyes which look forward and see:

the future with a childlike trust,
and people with godly compassion,
and the best in each situation,
and a peaceful courage in hard times,
and hope for everyone who appears hopeless.

There is a whole different way to look at Life. A way in which colors and hours and relationships are brighter and deeper.

I want my backward-looking eyes to sink into my head and disintegrate. But I need to stop using them first--let them die from neglect. Two eyes are enough for me, especially new ones formed and fashioned by God, Himself.

***
"Is the life I’m living the life that wants to live in me?" ... Parker Palmer