keep an eye out.

I have seen (and killed) a number of (not small) spiders in my bedroom recently.

Spiders creep me out so much, but the real thing for me is how startling it feels to spot one. Because I know they don’t just suddenly appear in the middle of the wall, you know? They come from somewhere. Which means they were in my room before I was aware of it—and that makes me uncomfortable.

Most of the time, even though I know that spiders are around, I move about my room and my day and I don’t think twice about it. But after seeing (and killing) one after another, I haven’t been able to move on like nothing happened.

Instead, I’ve been on high alert. Because what actually happened was that my awareness was increased. And the question that has been top-of-mind is, “What might be there that I can’t see right now?”

So I’ve been keep an eye out. Because something might be there. Something might seemingly “appear.” And I want to see it so I can respond to it.

Honestly, I feel a bit frustrated by how off balance it’s made me because I’ve come a long way in overcoming my irrational fear of spiders. But here I am, trying to remember what’s true and recalling what a friend once said to me about it: “You’re only seeing them because you’re looking for them.”

Every time I catch myself scanning the room, I ask God to help me stop looking for them. And, kind of to my surprise, He’s been talking back.

“What about the good things that are around that you can’t see right now? Just as easily as a spider can ‘suddenly appear,’ so can a person or an opportunity. Why are you only keeping an eye out for what you’re afraid of?”

It’s been a pretty stark reminder for me. Not just because I need to not let fear take up so much space, but also because it’s easy to keep going without really looking at all.

Everything seems to be the same. Business as usual. But the truth is, it isn’t. There are things around us, for us, that we just can’t see yet.

Keep an eye out.

The power of God is in you, even on a Thursday.