the invisible.

"I am an invisible man. No, I am not a spook like those who haunted Edgar Allen Poe; nor am I one of your Hollywood-movie ectoplasms. I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids-- and I might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me." 

-- Ralph Ellison, The Invisible Man

As i studied my American Literature for my current clep, i came across many authors, unheard of until now. Ralph Ellison, however, was not one of them. Only recently, i've been hearing a lot about The Invisible Man. I mean, i've heard "of" it all my life... and after reading this excerpt, i'm still not sure i would want to read it, though it sounds intriguing to me. It actually was the excerpt though, that sparked a question: how much of my life do i pick through what i want to see, and what i do see? A song by Brandon Heath requests for G-d to give us His eyes so we can see everything that we keep missing... i re-understood in a new light again this very morning. I look around me, and i choose to see... what? Only the good? Only the bad? Is there even a perfect middle? 

G-d, open my eyes that i might see what You wish for me to see... 

Jesus says that whatever we do unto others, we are doing unto Him...so if i "choose" not to see the hurt that is going on around me in my town alone... how does it reflect on my "choosing" to see the hurt that is going on in other countries? My town is safe. Guarded. i feel... protected, and unafraid of the nights. But a trip to San Francisco in daylight is yet a far cry from what i feel at home, outside of my comfort zone, when i feel nervous, on edge, and solemn... for the people around me. It just feels outside my comfort zone is certain areas, if that makes any sense. I want to leave, and never come back. But, G-d doesn't call me to do that- He calls me to the places of uncertainty, whether that be spiritually, mentally, or physically. 

I pray for the people as i walk past... and soon i see, not a woman screaming with insanity on the sidewalk, but a woman hurting from past and present. i don't see a drunken man asleep on the sidewalk... i see one trying to get away from whatever is following him, and haunting his wake. I don't see children being selfish, as children do... i see children aching for Jesus. All of them, aching for Jesus. 

And i find, the unseen becomes seen, when we ask for opened eyes. 

Article and Photography Copyright of Sierra Brewer and Fresh Joys Photography, 2012. If you would like to use any part of this post, please contact me for express permission at hishandmaiden.theblog@gmail.com. Thank you.