PRAYER: Lord make us the apple of Your eye. Center our lives around Your will. Hide us in the shadow of your wings.
VERSE OF THE DAY: Psalm 17:8
The night is young, the rain drops are falling down the pane of the windows of every closed boutique and restaurant in the heart of Virginia Beach. The “downtown” people who shop, drink, eat, and converse have all turned in for the night. All you can hear and feel is the gentle breeze as it causes the ripple effect in the mini puddles on the sidewalk.
My best friend from grade school & I walked around the stripe of the outer skirts of the heart of the “downtown” area. As we were walking no differently then we were when we were kids, the conversation sparks up about my life, my relationships, my goals, my future, and my aspirations. As we reach the building entrance to the foyer and elevators to the parking garage, we walk in through the double doors and to our right we see a bench. We both being so in sync and engaged in our conversation head towards the bench.
As we sit, I begin to tell her my deepest concerns, worries, and fears regarding relationships. My best friend very well knowing every pivotal moment and milestone of my life concerning relationships begins to give me insight and knowledge from her perspective. She said one very important thing to me that I’d like to share. She simply stated, “If you are not in the “center” of it then you are not at all a priority in the picture.” Taken back by what was stated to me, I began to reflect on my relationship with Christ. Immediately Psalm 17:8 came to me, which states, “Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings (NIV).”
APPLE OF HIS EYE
Isn’t it interesting how God used the eye as a means of explaining what He sees us as? With me being a licensed optician I understand the value and the importance of the human eye. Everything that we experience and perceive begins with the human eye. This psalm is a mere request asking God to keep us as the “center,” meaning in the middle, in the mist, in His presence. Keep me right there in that space with You. Then it speaks about how He hides us or covers us with His wings or with His hands.
I say all of this as a means of encouragement in your marriages, with your significant other, with your fiance, with a boyfriend/girlfriend, or just with a friend in general. My conversation with my best friend made me analyze my relationships at a different level. So now I encourage you to analyze your relationship and the value of your relationships. I would say they have to be of importance to you or you wouldn’t have them in your space (that is clearly a HINT to let go of people and things that bring no healthy and positive value to your space).
So what do I mean by analyze? Ask yourself these questions, is the person I am in a relationship with viewing and seeing my value and significance the way that God sees me? Am I the apple of their eye? Are they the apple of my eye? This is NOT a moment for you to be unfair or unrealistic in circumstances of being the “center” of attention. Don’t be misled by what I am merely trying to insinuate. I am simply asking you, are you a priority in that special someone’s life? Are you the “center” of their eye or the apple of their eye? Do they make you feel important and significant in the marriage or in the relationship? Do they honor and respect you? Do they love you enough to let you be the gateway to their mind? And are you reciprocating the same level of treatment?
If you know anything about optics and the human eye, the eye is simply a tool that bounces light rays through the retina onto the optic nerve and allows your brain to process images and shapes? Are you worth the process in the relationship? If so, then that means your spouse, significant other, fiance, boyfriend/girlfriend, friend will hide you in their minds, as well as, in their hearts. They will love you, cherish you, protect you, cover you, and so much more. Why? Because you are the “center” of their eye. You are the apple of their eye!
So from now on look at your relationships differently. Bring back that level of significance and importance. Don’t lose the importance and value of someone simply because you may have lacked in viewing them the same way that God sees you or me. It’s time to look through the eyes of God and love one another again. Just like you want your life to matter to God then you too should want someone else’s life to matter to you. Don’t let your apple fall far from the tree. The “Tree of Life” that is. Take value in other people’s lives for all lives matter. But especially take value in the ones who are with you daily and who pore into you daily. Don’t mistreat them, or disrespect them, but have enough respect as a human being to value and cherish those who are close to you!
So with that said I too will be valuing people with more regards. I will be seeing them the way that God sees me, as the apple of His eye! I may not have it all but there is one relationship that I value like so and that is the relationship I have with my best friend who inspired me to write this blog and to keep chasing after my dreams. Those are the relationships worth valuing. She is the apple of my eye!
Epiphany Encounter 