Dotting the "Eyes"

They’re a natural land feature locally called “The Eyes of the Palouse,” and they always fascinate and encourage me.  Nestled amidst Eastern Washington’s rolling farmlands are two adjacent knolls that were too steep for tractors to plow. The twin rocky slashes look like two giant eyes peering upward.

We made many trips past them in the years that our son and daughter attended a college two hundred miles east from our home. Now, we are again traveling that road to visit our daughter and her husband, who resettled there after teaching for two years in China. For about half of the four-hour trip, we follow a two-lane, weather-ribbed road that threads through sagebrush-encrusted hills and undulating brown, green and golden farmlands. The “eyes” show up within about fifty miles of our destination.

My family teases me about my anticipating the “eyes.” I remind them how watching for landmarks helps break up a long drive. But the “eyes” are particularly special in reminding me of the Lord’s watch-care over my family. I think of 2 Chronicles 16:9: “For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.”

I understand that Biblical references to “the eyes of the Lord” are symbolic of God’s omniscience and omnipresence. He’s certainly not the old man depicted by Michelangelo on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. He is not some huge human-like figure somewhere “out there.” God simply “is.” He defies any description. But we understand His constant awareness and watch-care through human terms of “eyes” and “seeing.”

A concordance search on “eye(s) of the LORD” or “God’s eye” reveals that term threaded throughout scripture. Some of my favorites:

            “The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous” (Psalm 34:15, also quoted in 1 Peter 3:12).
            “My eyes will be on the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me” (Psalm 101:6).
            Regarding a baby in the womb: “Your eyes saw my unformed body” (Psalm 139:16).
            “The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good” (Proverbs 15:3).
            Regarding faithful exiles: “My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land” (Jeremiah 24:6).

The assurance that God knows and sees everything—a concept, I admit, that is huge and mind-boggling—brings me great confidence and hope. When life serves up situations and crises that seem unsolvable, I’m taken back to the truth that nothing surprises God.  He saw it before, when it happens, and where it’s leading. Trusting His vision and perspective helps me grow in faith.

Perhaps it’s appropriate that those eyes of “dirt” in Eastern Washington first came to my attention in those very significant years of launching young adult children. We’d done our best to prepare them at home, but college would challenge them personally, academically, and spiritually. Launching them into adult life meant I had to commit them to God for counsel, comfort, and correction.

I still pray for them with the “eyes of the Lord” perspective. Wherever they are, God is watching over them with tender, wise love. And that greatly encourages me.

Some personal news:  We welcomed Josiah Matthew, our first grandchild, to our hearts on August 8.  He was five days old when I sat with him and was handed a book to "read to him" while his exhausted parents (my son and his wife) ate dinner. People tell me I'm going to love this role! Josiah means "God heals" or "God supports."  Matthew is "gift of God."