There are times when things blend in so seamlessly that they are unnoticeable, even though they are in full view of everyone around them.
In the animal world, they are called chameleons. These little creatures take on the colours of their surroundings. They look like they are part of the tree, leaf or rock they are standing on.
When people blend in we call them wallflowers.
Objects can also blend in. Have you ever been looking for something, know you’ve seen it, but can’t locate it? It can be right in front of you, on the floor or table, but it takes you a long time to actually see it.
Even though we know what we are looking for, and it is visible, for some reason – maybe distraction – we don’t see it right away.
It also happens when we are driving.
The other day I was driving home from Toronto (TO). It’s about a two and a half hour trip on the 401. For the first part of the journey there are lots of lanes and lots of cars.
As you get farther away from TO, the road narrows to only three lanes of traffic in each direction.
At this point in my journey, I didn’t take much notice the 18 wheelers travelling in the same direction as I was. They have to drive in the far right lane and are allowed to pass other vehicles in the middle lane.
Me, well, I was humming along in the middle and far left lanes, trying to make as good a time as I could without going too fast and drawing the attention of the police.
Eventually, however, about an hour and a half out of TO, the highway narrows again down to two lanes. … And all of a sudden I started to notice the trucks and how many of them there were on the road!
I noticed them because, with only two lanes, when they passed they had to move from the right lane to the left lane … where I was driving.
Normally, you pass a vehicle very quickly. But when a truck is involved, it takes forever to pass another vehicle!
You can find yourself stuck behind a truck for five minutes as it seesaws back and forth with the rig it is trying to get past.
It is so frustrating.
Before we narrowed to two lanes, the trucks were not noticeable; they were like chameleons in the lanes beside me.
I never noticed just how many big rigs there were on the road.
It is amazing how something that big – that long and massive – can become so unnoticeable with just one extra lane.
Let’s make the 401 three lanes all the way to Montreal.
Here’s the thing: You can go a while and not notice your Bible sitting on your night stand. You can go day after day without paying any attention to the fact that you are not spending time with the Lord. But when you life narrows, when difficulties, health issues or family problems crop up, then you will notice you need to pay attention to God in your life. Learn to keep Him in your sights when your life lanes are plentiful and you will seamlessly notice God when life is hard.
That’s Life!
Paul
Question: Why has God become unnoticeable lately? Leave your comments below.