Look Up

“Okay, here’s what we have to do. We’re going to lower ourselves about three feet down into the gully and then climb about four feet up on the other side, and then we have some briars to work through… but it’ll be fine!”

These are the words I heard as my dad and I began hiking back to the watershed lake that sits about a mile behind my childhood home.

The challenge didn’t phase me, though.

I had spent my whole childhood, teenage, and young adult years exploring these woods, and I was excited about the adventure.

The land had changed over time as the creek water rose and fell and vegetation grew.

But that wasn’t the only thing that was different.

I had changed as well.

I had not set foot in these woods for six years, since before losing my sight.

As my dad and I trekked through the woods, laughing while trying to navigate the landscape, I couldn’t help but feel nostalgic.

I began to look back at countless fond memories made on that very trail so many years ago.

Sara Claudia half smiling with a cowgirl hat on around the age of 3-4.

Throughout our lives, we spend much of our time looking for something.

During our childhood and teenage years, we are constantly wanting to hit that “fast-forward” button and grow up already!

Our eyes are fixed forward on the exciting years to come.

Then, just as quickly as we wished it away, we find ourselves missing those simple, carefree days of our youth.

We become adults with jobs and responsibilities, and we begin to look back.

This is exactly the situation I found myself in on that beautiful, sunny Sunday afternoon while hiking with my dad at my childhood home.

I missed being sighted.

I missed being young.

I missed being able to run free and explore the world around me whenever I wanted. 

I just wanted to go back!

After feeling nostalgic for most of the day, I was reminded of the message that the pastor had presented a few Sundays earlier about the “sameness” of God. 

You see, the same God that made those past memories and experiences so wonderful and memorable is the same God who is with us today.

In Isaiah 40, we can read about the ever-changing nature and fragility of humans.

“A voice said, “Shout!” I asked, “What should I shout?”  “Shout that people are like the grass. Their beauty fades as quickly as the flowers in a field. The grass withers and the flowers fade beneath the breath of the Lord. And so, it is with people.”

(Isaiah 40:6-7)

We see this every day.

The world around us changes.

The people in our lives change.

We, ourselves, even change over time.

In the midst of these changes, good or bad, we find ourselves constantly grasping and searching for something familiar, steady, and comforting.

If you are like me, you reach back into the depths of your memories, as I did on that hike, to find this comfort.

You look back to simpler times when pain, grief, and the “realness” of the world didn’t exist for you.

Sara Claudia smiling while walking with her white cane in front of a pond and wooden cross.

But everyone is different…where do you look for comfort?

 Thankfully, though, despite being fragile and transient, we have a God who is strong, steady, and enduring.

“The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.”

(Isaiah 40:8)

The Bible has been around for centuries, and despite the efforts of some, it remains a stronghold for Christians even today.

But not only is God’s physical word long-lasting, His promises, His faithfulness, and the Hope we can find in Him endures as well.

Sure, time and age may make the things around us look a little dimmer and worn.

But the hope we have in Christ is still as bright, shiny, and wonderful as ever before.

The same God that blessed us in our youth, or at whatever point of your life you found the most comfort, is the same God who blesses us now.

He is still faithful and He is forever faithful.

We don’t have to look backwards or forwards or anywhere else but up, right at Him.

He can make today good, wonderful, and memorable.

Instead of looking elsewhere for comfort, I challenge you to turn your eyes upon Jesus, just like the old hymn says.

When we focus on Christ, all of the earthly pleasures and desires that we hold so dear become far less important to us.

Instead, we focus on the hope we have in Him, in the one who holds more for us than this earth ever could.