Shades of Green

“Laura, do you remember before I was a Christian; and I was in your car, and you were driving up the big hill by your house?” My friend’s voice held a hint of hesitancy, and I knew she was about to tell me something she wasn’t sure she should admit out loud.

I wracked my brain.  I didn’t remember anything specific about driving up the hill, but I felt a niggling of fear that she was about to say she’d been afraid my driving would kill her.  I’m not a bad driver, but my paranoia was kicking in as it was clear she’d been holding out on me.

She interrupted my fearful thoughts.  “You were gazing up at the wooded hillside with a smile on your face, and you said, ‘Look, look at all the shades of green.’   Spring had just arrived, and the trees were leafing out.  The new bright leaves were contrasting the darker evergreens, and you were captivated by the variety of hues.  I didn’t say it out loud, but in my head, I thought, who cares?”

I laughed out loud, and she gave a nervous chuckle. 

“I was so unhappy,” she went on to explain, “that I didn’t see the beauty in anything; but when I was with you, you were always exclaiming about something.  I didn’t understand why you would get so excited about things.”  Here my friend gave a happy sigh.  “Now I see it all, I look at the mountains and say, God, you are so amazing.  I look at the water, the trees, the sunsets and say, God, you made all of this.  You are an awesome God.”

We were both silent for a moment, and then she continued.  “You know, not only was my heart blind to God’s love and forgiveness, but my eyes were blind to all of the beauty around me because I was so unhappy.”

Over the past week, I’ve thought about her story and the way God transformed not only her heart but her entire outlook on life.  She became the perfect example of II Corinthians 4:4, 6 which says,

“In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them…For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 

What about you?   Do you need a new perspective on life?  Perhaps the time is right for you to discover God’s light.

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