Eyes on the Sky

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.




The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.

When the mysterious author of Hebrews admonished his readers to run the race"...fixing our eyes on Jesus..." I sort of took that literally.

(and i'm feeling a little cranky about not knowing who wrote hebrews. it seems important today.)

I know that there are lots of ways to do that Scripturally and figuratively, and I've struggled to do those things. Keep your eyes on Him, I mean. 

I also stare at the sky a lot.

My mom has always said, "It feels good to let your eyes look as far as they can" and I agree.

Especially since I read about a prisoner that lost a lot of his vision from being in a small cell for years. 

But it's more than that. It's seeing God's creation screaming His praises. It's seeing that I am such a small speck of dust in the grand scheme of things. It's reminding myself that if I keep looking here, I'll get discouraged, weary and frustrated.

It's hard to feel those things when you're looking up. 

So I set my eyes upward, toward Him. It helps me praise Him, talk to Him, and see that He truly is sovereign over all. Especially my tiny, brief life. 

I also have become accustomed to snapping pictures of the sky with my phone. I have no idea why. I like capturing the beauty, I guess.

It's odd, though, just a bit, to be this fixated on the sky. And I'm sure the neighbors that exercise at the same time I do each morning wonder why I stop periodically and take pictures of the sky. 

That's okay, though.

I was delighted to hear our pastor mention the other Sunday that while walking across the parking lot to come into the church, he noticed the clouds, and proceeded to exclaim about their beauty and how they shouted God's glory.

"I get that!" I yelled on the inside.

That made me feel not quite so odd. 

At the risk of looking like one of those cheesy videos from You Tube, I had to put here some of my favorites. They make me happy. And peaceful. 

This was an amazing morning. This was literally what I saw facing one direction:

And when I turned around, this was the opposite direction:

And then in the fall, my favorite season, there's this; a perfectly cloudless sky, so blue you can hardly stop looking at it. That screams His glory too...