Easily Overlooked by Tynea Lewis Tynea Lewis is a teacher turned work-from-home mom. She and her husband live in Pennsylvania with their two children, and they love spending time together at their family cabin. Tynea remembers loving to write as early as first grade. She has a heart for encouraging others in the midst of their messes. You can connect with her at her personal blog (www.tynea-lewis.com),
Recently, I have enjoyed dabbling in photography. There’s something about capturing the beauty of what’s around you. There’s something about capturing a moment. In the hustle and bustle of life, it’s easy to overlook the small things. It’s easy to keep moving forward instead of pausing to take in what is happening around us. I do the same thing with people. Sometimes I’m quick to overlook the hearts of those who cross my path. I see them there, but I don’t take the time to invest in them. I don’t take the time to see the beauty within. Photography has reminded me of the importance of highlighting what is often overlooked. One evening, while my family and I were taking a walk, I noticed a bright purple flower on top of a thistle. Even though I knew it was a weed, the beauty and intricacy of the flower captured my attention. It would have been easy for me to focus on how that weed didn’t belong in the middle of the grass and how it should be pulled. Often, we do the same thing with our lives. We try to remove the ugliness of the pain from the weeds in our own lives, but we overlook the beauty that can come from that pain.
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We want to remove moments in our lives, but we overlook how those experiences can minister to other people’s hearts in similar situations. We need to turn our eyes on the beauty in the midst of the mess, and God is at the center of that beauty every time. “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV) Those weeds reminded me that beauty is found everywhere. We just need to know where to look and be intentional in searching for it. In the everyday moments, there is beauty. Even in pain, there is beauty. May we turn our eyes to the easily overlooked and find the beauty that others dismiss. I pray for clarity to see all the things God is doing in each moment. May I also worry less about where I’m going and instead focus on what God is doing.
