“Did you use your eyeballs?” I respond when my husband can’t find something and asks if I’ve seen it.  He’s a good sport to go back, look more thoroughly and usually returns with the found object.  We laugh that he can never see what is right under his nose.  

I know why my husband is struck by blindness when he steps foot in the pantry. He has a very specific image in his mind of what he is looking for and where it would be placed. He makes a beeline for that spot, and that spot only, instead of scanning the surrounding shelves. He doesn’t expect the object to be shuffled about and certainly does not expect the object to be in different packaging.

Apparently it’s not uncommon for men in particular to experience this type of sudden blindness.  It’s a horrible stereotype whiny wives perpetuate with a cheeky new expression: “male pattern blindness”. 

Before we judge men for blindness, we have to recognize we can all be guilty of blindness in our lives.We can be blind to the sin in our lives, burying our heads in the sand until bad habits feel normal. We can be blind to the needs of others, selfishly looking out for ourselves only. We can be blind to the truth, stubbornly holding our opinions and perspectives. 

We turn a blind eye to the bad, as well as the good in our lives. We are often blind to the blessings in our lives. We keep praying and asking God to provide and get frustrated that blessings are not blooming instantly around us. But there is a good chance the answers to our prayers are right in front of us; we either haven’t noticed them yet or we can’t see them  because we have certain expectations of how we think they should look. 

Just like my husband searching in the pantry, we look for blessings in our lives with specific pictures in mind. Instead, we need to expect to be surprised, and surprised by blessings hidden in plain sight. 

In reading Elizabeth Demolat’s article “Journal Prompts For Christian Women” (you can read it here), my eye kept catching prompts that would spark gratitude.  The very first question was powerful in its simplicity: “What good things have you noticed in your life recently?” By noting the good, we name the blessings we may not have realized were there otherwise. 

There was a time I was seeking friends. I had just moved and desired friends to give me the inside scoop on the city and accelerate my adjustment to a new place. And my longing wasn’t completely selfish; I wanted friends to be a friend to others. If I need the special kind of listening and empathy that only women can give, I knew I needed to provide the same care and love for other women.

But for months, I subconsciously sabotaged my search for friends by seeking only one type of friend- essentially a clone of myself- who would be in my season of life and like all the things I like.  

The other day I listed my gratitude for my swimming friends, a colorful cast of characters I’ve known for two years now. At nearly 30 I’m the youngest in a group that averages middle aged or empty nesters, but I’ve come to appreciate our intergenerational friendships. 

I especially treasure the assortment of ladies. There’s a nurse, anthropologist, doctor, firefighter and chef. Swimming in sync with these women week after week has built a bond.  After you’ve seen them wash marsh mud off their face and they’ve seen you spit salt out of your mouth, you can’t help but open up and speak candidly to each other. By listing my gratitude for their presence, my eyes were opened to the blessing of their friendship. 

These women did not just satisfy one prayer. God provides perfect gifts (James 1:17 NIV ) and I believe he often fulfills multiple needs and desires in the same blessing, specializing in two for one kinds of blessings. At the same time I had been praying for friends, I had been asking God to provide older women with whom I could share everyday life. After the loss of my mother last summer, I craved women with the wisdom of life experience. In the same shower of blessings, these women serve as motherly mentors, in the best way. At some point in my life I must have been scarred by older Christian women telling me to always wait for clear signs and play it safe with patience.  Instead, these women encourage me to seize opportunities God presents and trust even when you can’t predict an outcome. 

These women exceeded what I dreamed God would provide for me, with both friends and mentors. All I had to do was list out all the good God had given me and I recognized my prayer had been answered with the best blessing. 

I wonder if God sometimes places hidden gems in our lives for us to uncover with time. These hidden blessings remind me of a verse I came across in Isaiah:

“I will give you the treasures of darkness and riches from secret places so that you may know that I, Yahweh, the God of Israel, call you by name.” -Isaiah 45:3 HCSB

These blessings are customized for us, packaged with care and addressed to us.  

With this new gratitude, I feel the need to share this blessing with others, and certainly with the ladies who are the blessing.  If gratitude is awareness of a blessing, we are called to show appreciation for the blessing by giving thanks. 

Next time I’m with my swimming gals, I’ll thank them for their presence in my life. Maybe I’ll bring a special dish for our post swim potluck feasts. And I’ll first and foremost thank God for my many blessings, listing the good and the good I have yet to discover.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Grace is a writer based in coastal Georgia. She invites readers to explore and wonder about the goodness of God and make their own faith discoveries. Her husband and cats cheer her on, swimming is her escape and cheese is her fuel.