“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.” 

Hebrews 4:13, NLT

“Where?” I asked. “What bird? I don’t see any bird? Stop playing with me little girl!

“It’s right there, Mommy! Really! I’m not kidding, it’s right in front of you! Daddy sees it, right, Daddy?”

“Look right in the center of that tree, Ri”, my hubby said.

“Oh, I see it now”, I said! Sure enough, right in front of my face, sat a white bird, in the middle of a tree! I’d looked at that tree earlier and didn’t even see the bird sitting there, nearly camouflaged. I’d looked right past it even though it was hiding in plain sight. Seeing or not seeing that bird in the tree wouldn’t make a significant difference in my life or anyone else’s. But, what do we look past that can make a difference in a life?

Sometimes we look past our shortcomings; after all, it is easier to deny them or refuse to address them altogether, than to face them. I struggled for years to come to a place of real forgiveness towards someone that I’d decided did me wrong. I didn’t want to forgive this person at all. In my view, all about the situation that promoted my refusal to forgive was laid squarely at their feet. They did everything wrong and I did everything right. So, why should I forgive them? I looked right past any evidence of my lack of character. I couldn’t see it at all, because it was their fault entirely! Although I tried to camouflage my resentment through self-justification, it was hiding in plain sight (with every reference to this person and the situation) through my lack of forgiveness.

Today, I’ve forgiven the person and repented of my wrongdoing but I’m left to wonder how much my life or the life of that person would have been different had I let go of my resentment and chosen to forgive them earlier.

We might get resentful and toughen our hearts to the reality about ourselves but the Word of God is powerful enough to cut through our innermost denial. God sees everything about us, including those things we attempt to hide from ourselves. When we trust in him and follow his Word, he exposes our hidden things so we can change and grow more like him.

How different our lives would be if we saw, confessed, and corrected our shortcomings, instead of allowing them to hide in plain sight.

By grace through faith,

Rita