God Goggles

If you haven't already seen this video called Mom Goggles, go watch it.  It is awesome and hilarious and so very true.  In summary, two dads are left home with the kids for the weekend.  They look for something to help them keep the kids alive.  They end up buying Mom Goggles where, when worn, they see things through a Mother's eyes.

A few years ago I started praying that I would see things the way God sees them.  That my heart would be broken with the things that break God's heart.  That my desires would be God's desires.  That I would love others as God loves them.  In essence, I asked God to give me God Goggles.

When my child is acting up and being disrespectful, my eyes see a sassy child who is messing up my day and needs to be corrected.  But put on my God Goggles, and suddenly my child is transformed into a child who is tired, going through a growth spurt, hungry, upset about something else, feeling neglected, or any host of other issues that may be affecting their behavior.  And I stop and try to get to the heart of the issue, while also gently correcting the child for relating unlovingly toward me.

When the Hubs comes home from work grumpy, my eyes see a guy to avoid.  He's being mean and I want to lash back.  And then I put on my God Goggles and I see a man who is tired, had a stressful day, needs to eat, or something else that has absolutely nothing to do with me.  So I can step back and love him and shower kindness on him despite his grumpiness.  Because it is not about me.

God Goggles also work on people outside my family.  My eyes judge people based on what they see.  If a person is unkind, abrupt, distant, or any host of other things, my eyes see someone to avoid.  But then God steps in and puts his Goggles on my eyes and the people before me morph into people who are crying out for love, someone to care about them, someone to talk to.  They are no longer people to avoid, but people to pursue.  To get to know.  To befriend.

And with these God Goggles firmly attached to my face, I see everything differently.  I see heart needs.  Those needs that are below the surface that most people would never tell others about.  I see them now.  I can be sitting next to someone and my God Goggles go nuts as they show me that the person is struggling and needs prayer, a hug, a listening ear, or a few hours of alone time sans kids.

A whole new world of things bring tears to my eyes.  Break my heart.  Make my insides rise up in righteous anger.  But I can't fix the whole world.  I may want to.  I might want to try to.  But when it comes down to it, I can only love the person in front of me.  And with my God Goggles on, I know that is enough.  To really see the person in front of me and to love them as God loves them.