Love tinted glasses...

    A couple days ago I decided to make a quick trip to Wal-Mart... you know, the store that controls our lives? Well, I needed this to be a very quick trip. I wanted to run in, get my items of groceries, find the fastest checker I knew of, and leave as soon as I possibly could.

    As always, I quickly look to see if any of "my checkers" were there. You see, I have a "list" of WalMart employees kept in the back of my head that are the "good" ones and the "bad" ones. Unfortunately, the longest line was at the checkout station of my favorite lady but I happened to see the light next to her flash on. Dashing hopefully to the counter, I set down my groceries thinking that I would get out even quicker than I had first planned. And then... I saw who was behind the checkout stand. She was probably about 5'2'', about 80 years old, and was taking forever. Trying not to be inpatient I stand there quietly, hands folded, waiting for her to start scanning my items. Did she start by picking up my banana's and typing in the code? No, of course not. Instead, she grabs her bag from behind her computer and sets in on the belt to begin using.

    First of all, this bag is the clear, tacky plastic kind that I used to have when I was five. It's filled with gum, denture paste, lipstick, a comb, perfume, a pair of glasses and some other slightly random items. I watch as she slowly, and boy do I mean slowly, opens her shiny clear bag to get out her glasses. She then lifts the tube of lipstick out, along with a pocket mirror, and proceeds to apply her bright, ruby red makeup. Instead of finishing and turning to attend to my groceries she then pulls out a well-used kleenex and blots her lips. Thinking at last she is going to turn around and start checking me out, I watch as she instead sprays herself with perfume, get's out a watch and signs into her little computer. By this time I am itching to get this over with. The line that I had decided not to wait in has now been replaced with all new people... and I'm sitting here waiting on a little old lady to finish her "business". In my opinion, at this time, all this primping was completely uneccessary and a complete waste of my time. After a long process of entering in codes and having to take off one item that she scanned twice I get to leave.

    It's after I leave the store that I realized how precious that whole scenario was. Did it annoy me? Yes. Should it have annoyed me? No. Why not?... Because Jesus thought she was beautiful.

He loved the time that she took to bring out her purse. He loved her taste in that tacky, clear, zippered, square purse. He loved watching her enjoy primping and applying make-up. He just loved her.

    Have you ever heard the term "rose-colored glasses"? People use that phrase to say that you are looking at something as better or more special than it really is. Well, Jesus looks at us through "love-tinted glasses". I know that while I was sitting there, being incredibly impatient, thinking that her bag was stupid, and wondering why in the world she would choose that moment to apply lipstick, He was thinking how much He loves her. He doesn't see the waste of time, the imperfections, the wrinkled skin, the quirky tastes, or need to hurry in everything... He just sees His children. He sees us as His best friends. He looks at us through love-tinted glasses... And that just knocks my socks off.

David Crowder sings a song that has become a recent favorite of mine... I feel it is quite appropriate to place the lyrics in this particular blog.

He is jealous for me, Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,

Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us oh
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all

He is jealous for me, Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us oh,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all
He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.

And we are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If His grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.
And heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss,
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about, the way…

That He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.
Yeah, He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.

You should watch his music video... click here.