The Real Definition of Abundance - Ministry of Hope

It is hurricane season.

We pray for those in the path of earth’s violent storms as many of us prepare.

Earlier this year, Isaias hammered the east coast with rain and heavy winds.

Yet, even with varying degrees of readiness, it is still a shock when electrical power is lost, and all goes dark and stone quiet.

TV blanks off, cellphones are mummed, clocks cease to tick, refrigerators stop their constant commotion and we are stunned.

More than the loss of light, the lack of mundane background noise, the crush of utter stillness, sits heavily upon us.

Obscure sounds once there, now startle us with their absence, leaving us with this paradox: they were heard but unheard.

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Heard but Unheard; Seen but Unseen (A Definition of Abundance)

I wondered if sight is like sound in that respect.

We take in so many images.

Pop-ups on our screens compete for our attention.

In every direction there are kaleidoscopic visions to be assimilated, but what do we really see?

We can arrive at a destination without any recollection of how we got there.

We muse in wonderment, “I don’t recall making those turns.”

It is called “situational blindness” which is a failure to see what is in plain sight.

In the silence of Hurricane Isaias, this question emerged. What am I seeing but not seeing?

While the storm raged outside, I settled into a darkened muffled inside world, finally accepting the quiet reprieve.

I watched the flame from candles flicker at will.

Without house noise clutter, I was wrapped in a veil of tranquility. Candlelight dancing freely on my walls, I studied the interplay between light and dark.

Sharpened senses echoed me inward, illuminating forgotten inner spaces.

Then I thought of Isaiah, not the hurricane of a similar name, but the prophet who foretold of the Light to Come if only we had eyes to see.

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.

Isaiah 60:1

Paul Was Blind Before He Saw the Light

Before his conversion on the road to Damascus, Saul was spiritually blind, seeing but not seeing.

Blinded by self-righteousness and raging adrenalin to hunt down the troublemakers who followed Jesus, he was overtaken by an abundance of light.

When he opened his eyes, he saw for the first time and Paul was transformed.

With almost 200 references, the theme of light is threaded throughout the Bible.

So is blindness.

With Ears to Hear and Eyes to See (A Definition of Abundance)

We learn from the gospels that the disciples did not completely grasp Jesus; parables and teachings.

They heard but they did not hear.

Truly, they saw but did not see.

In Matthew 15:16, Jesus asks, “Are ye yet without understanding?”

Another version translates that to, “Are you still so dull?”

Clearly, Jesus wanted them to widen their understandings, to open their ears and eyes to see and hear beyond the words, and to look again.

I wonder why the gospel writers gave voice to their own blindness.

They could have puffed themselves up, bragging about their insightful understandings from the start.

Instead, they chose to show themselves as partially blind. It was at the resurrection when their eyes fully opened, and they understood Christ’s message.

What was their message to us?

To me?

Are my ears and eyes opened to what I need to hear and to see?

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Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.

Luke 24:31

What My Father Saw (A Definition of Abundance)

I remember my dad’s last few minutes on this earth.

We were told that his departure from this earth could come at any time.  And, we were gathered around his bed, my brother, my daughter, and me.

We were speaking with him, softly, tending to his needs, anything to comfort him.

He would ask for ice on his lips. Then both eyes closed, his right eye was always half-closed.

We gently gave him permission to go.

I told him that his brothers are waiting for him. We listened as his breathing slowed into a labored rattle.

We remained by his side waiting for him to drift off peacefully and quietly.

Indeed, we knew death was imminent.

In the distance, a harpist was playing, “Time to Say Goodbye”.  

Tears flowed.

Then suddenly something changed.

Unexpectedly, both of his eyelids flew open.

His face once gray and stilled was now animated and bathed in light.

An inner flame was ignited.

We witnessed this new light and its transformation.

With both eyes wide open, he went home!

The Second Light Rule (A Definition of Abundance)

My dad’s eyes opened to the eternal flame.

With new light, he saw, and he understood.

But am so I tethered to my earthly eyes that do not yet see?

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Is Jesus lovingly saying to me, “Gloria, my child, why are you so dull?”

I now understand that my “undone-ness”, a feeling that was gnawing at me for weeks, was about seeing and yet not seeing.

But I can look again, a second time.

The Lord said to Abram . . . . “Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward.”

Genesis 13:14

The Second-Light Rule

Indeed, the Second-Light Rule is simply this: to look beyond the mundane, to look beyond what we do not understand, to look beyond our petty grievances, our differences, our kneejerk reactions, our fears, our worries, to see what is in plain sight.

Connections.

The same flame. Inner light.

Everywhere. In all directions.

Second Light allows us to really see the goodness that we might readily dismiss.

An awakening from blindness.

Things we see yet un-see.

• Our neighbor helping us lift a heavy package.
• A giggling child.
• Beautiful flowers.
• Another driver allowing us the right of way.
• A smile from a stranger when you need it.
• That teacher who really saw me.
• Butterflies.
• Even merely waving a hello.

Light a lamp to goodness.

It is your second light.

Your spiritual light.

I see it as my back-up light when we go through life’ss storms.

And it is there for the asking.

Open my eyes so that I can see all the wonderful things in your teachings.

Psalm 119:18

Forgiving Yourself in the Gathering of Light (A Definition of Abundance)

What did I not see?

So many regrets.

So many missed cues.

Blinded by willful ego, I made some choices that caused pain.

Looking back, I now wonder why I did not stop to ask for God’s help.

Why I allowed my self-righteousness to blind me.

But I can ask now.

When regrets gurgle up like undigested food, I can use the Second Light Rule to stop punishing myself.

And, when I look again, and I see the disciples as my models. They gave voice to their blindness but were not immobilized by it.

They looked again and embraced new light that propelled them forward.

Lessons were learned, albeit the hard way, but they were learned.

With an abundance of new light, we can learn.

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About the Author

Dr. Gloria Hill is a seeker who dives into spiritual journeys, using gardens and the natural world as her muse.

Her lyrical writing includes a 360- degree approach to spiritual growth, citing researchers, writers, and scripture.

You can connect with her at gloriasstories.com!

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The Real Definition of Abundance