“But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.” // Matthew 13:16-17
At first glance, my Montessori classroom appears chaotic. I hear children talking loudly—almost yelling. The new, young girl dumps an entire bucket of water on the floor, a group of boys distract the girls with silly jokes, another child breaks down in tears, and an inquisitive one has dropped the entire alphabet box. Hundreds of letters now cover the carpet.
But if I pause and really observe, I also hear a girl joyfully singing a love song to Jesus that she makes up as she illustrates a few lines of the story she just wrote. Despite the noise, a boy is lost in concentration as he works to find the right place for each piece of his geometry work. The group of boys dissipates as a couple notice the water spill and show their new classmate where to find the towels and mop. They give her a lesson on how to clean up with greater precision, gentleness, and patience than I would. My assistant helps with the alphabet box as the child looks up and smiles. Looking through the window into the room for catechesis, another young child is still at work with the Good Shepherd material. He calmly and peacefully moves the figures, enjoying his time of prayer and work.
“Lord, give me eyes to see” was frequently my prayer as a Montessori teacher, imploring God to change me from the blindness of my impatience in order to see the truth of the beauty happening all around me in the children God had blessed me to serve.
Where in your life has God blessed you to see and hear the mysteries of God? Whether in your faith life, travels, motherhood, ministry, work, or personal life experiences, God has allowed you to see and hear His treasures in special places. May we have eyes to see.
Jesus, open our eyes to see and our ears to hear. May the truth of what we have seen and heard always give witness to You, our Word of Life. Amen.
“Lord, give me eyes to see.Click to tweet
Mary Catherine “Mave” Craige spent years as a life coach helping others to achieve their dreams, and she now pursues her own dream as a professional artist. Her inspiration is the beauty of nature, specifically the human person as the epitome of creation. Hailing from the rolling hills of Virginia, she now calls the west coast of Florida home. When she is not making art, you may find her dancing, playing music, or out on the water either surfing or sailing.
You can find more about her here
@mave_art
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