Seeing. Knowing. Understanding.

Oftentimes, when considering our future, these are desires we have. We just want to know what’s next, what to expect, what to prepare for so we’re not surprised. 

In short, we just want to see.

I came to this realization in the kitchen with my almost 19-month-old. When we’re cooking, he likes to be involved and see what’s going on. He’ll even become quite upset if not given the opportunity to view whatever might be sizzling away on the stove or mixing in the Kitchenaid or baking in the oven. We’ve tried our best to include him, but sometimes, we need both hands, and he needs to just be patient.

These interactions reminded me of the verse:

Set your minds on things above, not on things that are on earth.

Colossians 3:2

To Liam, standing at a little over 30 inches, things above include whatever is happening in the kitchen to prepare dinner. Sometimes he gets the opportunity to see the current step we’re working on, whereas other times, he just needs to be content in the waiting. 

He has the chance to trust that even if he can’t immediately see, he knows that we are working on something good.

So it is with our heavenly Father. We sometimes get those mountaintop moments where we can look out at the world and see far into the distance, but in reality, most of our time is spent in the valley. We know that the path remains visible on the mountaintop, even if we are not specifically up there.

Just like when we’re waiting to understand the next step in our lives, or Liam is waiting to get the chance to see what dinner looks like, we can still remain focused on heavenly things with patience and trust, even while our feet are planted on the earth. 

The work continues, whether we fully see it or not. 

That doesn’t mean we will stop asking, “Seeeeee?” and our heavenly Father will still occasionally pick us up in His arms to let us get a little look at the feast He’s cooking up for us.