Maine Musings #2: Flying Blind
- Lisa Livezey
- 4 days ago
- 2 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
Be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. —I Corinthians 15:58 NRSV
Our farmer friend in Maine walked us out to his "back forty" to see the cows. Two huge creatures stared stolidly back at us over the fence. Off in the distance, we could see the massive bull, currently on loan from a neighboring farm.
I watched as flies crawled over the cows' faces even up to the lining their eyes. Occasionally an ear would twitch to ward off one or two of the pests.
How annoying, I thought. I counted 26 pesky flies simultaneously making themselves at home on the snout of the cow closest to us. Our farmer friend matter-of-factly shrugged his shoulders and said, "There nothin' they can do about it." Nothing they can do about it. So they just tolerate these nonstop annoyances without getting upset.
Even watching the flies caused irritation to well up within me and gave a whole new twist to the phrase "flying blind." These cows turn a blind eye to the imperfections of their reality — and steadily live out their "cow" calling.
How easy it can be to focus on the minor annoyances that invade our lives, tainting our misguided goals of ease, comfort, and perfection. Instead of counting the flies, we can name one-by-one our blessings and live each day "flying blind."
Prayer
Lord, help me turn a blind eye to little nuisances and annoyances. Instead, let me focus on Your goodness, my mission in life, and on counting my blessings both small and big!
If we were careful to offer all these petty annoyances to God and accept them as being ordered by His providence, we would soon be in a position to support the greatest misfortunes that can happen to us, besides at the same time insensibly drawing close to intimate union with God. — St. Claude de la Colombière (1641-1682)
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My friend Maureen, the wife of today's farmer, has vegetable gardens so perfect — they seem like the Garden of Eden! Read "Eden Exemplified" in the deeper devotional section of my Substack. You also find it in Guideposts' Inspiration from the Garden devotional.
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