Hope in the View

Have you ever flown on an airplane at night, and looked over the vast darkness until you could see a cluster of lights? Realizing this was a town or a city, have you ever imagined the lives of the people living in those tiny houses down there?

I think flying gives us a perspective of how God sees the world. He sees it in great, vast sweeps of time, and He can know what is happening in every life in each and every tiny house, all at the same time.

When I was a young mother, flying over the heartland to visit relatives in Wisconsin, I looked down at those little houses and imagined there was a mom inside taking care of her children just as I was. It was mind boggling to think of this scenario repeated millions of times in millions of homes across America, and indeed, throughout the world.

One night several years ago, I had an incredible experience with ‘God View’. In the middle of the night, when I was in twilight sleep where one is neither fully awake nor fully asleep, God showed me the world from His perspective. For a brief moment, I saw all of existence in a single thought; heard all of creation praying simultaneously, and felt the presence of the multitudes. The experience was quite overwhelming, and though I could not absorb it all, I will never forget how it made me feel.

It is somewhat perplexing for me to understand why God would show me how humanity cries out to Him. I am grateful for the experience and humbled at the vastness of His understanding. I lived this only for a moment, but God hears this cacophony endlessly.

Though the experience was unnerving, and difficult for my earthbound spirit to comprehend, this occurrence was an incredible privilege. The hope I discern through this experience is that God really is there. He is here. He is everywhere. And He hears our call to Him.

Many years later as I have explored in my heart what God means to me, I am drawn to the Hebrew word for God, Yahweh. Originally translated as YHWH, without vowels, these people felt His name was too sacred to speak aloud. I like to say His name softly, as a breath. Yahweh. Breathe in, and breathe out His name, Yahweh, and feel His closeness. You can always remember, He is as near to you as the air you breathe.