By Dr. Froswa’ Booker-Drew
I was driving back from Austin after speaking at a conference. As I got in the DFW area, I was about to change lanes and I noticed a lady riding in my blind spot. She moved around me to the left lane and proceeded to move into the other blind spot. In frustration, I sped up just to get away. In that moment, I learned a valuable lesson. We all have blind spots not just on the roads but even in our life journey. We need help to see what we can’t.
Objects are a lot closer than you think. Just as much as she was preventing me from seeing to the right, she was also in a position to block me from moving to the next lane. Barriers are inevitable but it’s making the choice to evaluate first before enacting a decision. I could have easily just moved over without pausing to see if she was there.
In life, we have to make sure that we examine, evaluate, and if necessary, wait. So often, our barriers are things that are really close—friends, family, co-workers. At one time, the side mirrors of a car would say, “objects in (the) mirror are closer than they appear”. Could some of those things that are blocking your progress closer than you want to admit?
The mirrors are a tool. So often, we depend on ourselves and not enact the tools we’ve been given. God has blessed us with several tools that can be used to help us. Ephesians 6:10-18 tells us to be strong in God and God’s power. Trusting in our abilities can get us hurt. Had I solely trusted my eyesight, I could have damaged my car and jeopardized our safety. Thank God for the mirrors!!!
Throughout the Bible, there are examples of God supplying His people tools. Tools can be both physical and spiritual. Moses is an example of God using both spiritual and physical tools. “Then the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. The LORD said, “Throw it on the ground.” (Exodus 4:2) You have the tools you need if you would seek God, allow God to show what you have in your possession, make you do something with what’s been given, and watch things work out for you!
We have protection even when we don’t see it. God tell us to “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”
So much of what we fight against isn’t always seen. We understand systems are at work that create inequity. We see the result of those systems, but we may not necessarily picture the entire entity that it represents. It is a fact just as we can’t always see evil, but we see its results, we know that it exists. What we fight against is bigger than we are, and we don’t always know what we are up against. Yet, our protection is even GREATER.
Our mirrors reflect back to us. Mirrors work because rays of light bounce back off of the object. If the surface is not smooth, the light will scatter. What is being reflected in your life? Are people able to see God’s light and love in you? Or is that when God is present, there is so much that is blocking and blinding you from waking up and accepting who God says you are?
Who are the individuals that are around you? Do they show a picture of love, compassion, and generosity? Or do they reflect characteristics of jealousy, greedy and disdain? Mirrors force us to look at ourselves and our surroundings.
When we don’t check for the blind spots, we can miss a lot when our view is blocked.
Dr. Froswa’ Booker-Drew is the CEO of Soulstice Consultany (drfroswabooker.com) and the founder of the R2 Foundation (r2fdn.org). She is the author of four books including Empowering Charity: A New Narrative of Philanthropy by Baylor University Press and the host of the Tapestry Podcast.
