While growing up, my mom and Mamaw Girdle/Myrtle would often tell me, “You can’t see diddly squat!” Mamaw Jo was different in that she would say, “I swannie! If it was a snake, it would’ve bitten you!”
I hate to admit it, but all of them were so right. You see, I have never been the kind of person who can easily find things. It can be right in front of me and I still won’t see it. There have been times when my eagle-eyed husband Tim and I have been driving down the road and he’ll notice something in a field. He’ll say things like: “Do you see that deer?” Or “Wow! Look at that tom strutting.” Of course, I don’t see anything. If there’s no other traffic, he’ll stop and point, “You don’t see that?” I usually shrug my shoulders and answer, “I see some trees.”
The problem isn’t my poor eyesight because I always wear my glasses. You see, I would rather look with my imagination than my real sight. I may miss a full -sized deer standing in the middle of a field, but what I find in the clouds are amazing. When I gaze up into the cloudy sky, I can make out wonderous images and creatures. But what fascinates me most is how the clouds can change their shapes in an instant and become the form of something else. By the way, I can also see shapes in just about anything that has some kind of design to it.
“Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” John 20:29 (KJV)
This is where we get the phrase, “Doubting Thomas.” He was being a normal human in that he wanted to personally see the resurrected Jesus before he would believe. Today, we can’t see Jesus the same exact way as Thomas did, but we can know Him just as well in that we look upon Him through eyes of faith. Have you gazed upon Him lately?
A few years ago, Mamaw Jo’s words almost came true as Sara and I were walking outside of Mamaw and Papaw’s house. After we passed by the well, my uncle told us to look at what was laying on the ground. I turned around and answered, “A black water hose. So, what.” He politely replied, “That’s not a water hose!” Yep, we had walked right past a black snake. From that point on, you better believe I thoroughly look over their yard before walking through it.

Brooke Cox is an author, speaker, and storyteller. She was a 2016 Selah Awards Finalist for Debut Novel. Her children’s book: “Dinosaur Eggs,” is now available. It is based on Ephesians 6: The Armor of God. Her novel “Until the Moon Rises: A Conniving Cousin Mystery” is also available. Also, she has two books out in her storytelling series: “Saucy Southern Stories.” The Amazon links for her books may be found on her website: brookecoxstories.com. Please feel free to contact her. She would love to hear from you