The Ledger

Learning to See

By Jennifer Greene-Sullivan 

For two years, I sat in our little tiny house office at S & S FAB and Welding, studying my Bible, praying, and learning to be still. Somewhere along the way, I began asking the Lord to teach me to illustrate my own children’s books. I wanted to paint the pictures I could imagine but couldn’t seem to bring to life. I had no idea that before He taught my hands to paint, He would begin teaching my eyes to see.

Painting became an expression of the joy I experienced while spending time with Jesus. I began noticing colors, shadows, shapes, and beauty in things I had previously overlooked. Ordinary moments became opportunities to create, and the simplest things inspired me. However, the transformation wasn’t limited to what I could see with my physical eyes.

Something was changing in the way I perceived life itself.

In Matthew 16, Peter struggled to understand Jesus’ explanation of His coming suffering and death. Peter saw the situation through human understanding, but Jesus corrected him for setting his mind on the things of man rather than the things of God. Peter could see what was happening, yet he couldn’t comprehend the greater purpose unfolding before him. How often have I done the same?

I’ve spent much of my life interpreting circumstances through my experiences, expectations, and memories. Yet as I’ve grown closer to Jesus, I’ve begun to recognize that my understanding is limited. Sometimes even the memories I carry look different when I revisit them through the lens of grace. The past hasn’t changed, but the way I understand it has.

Now that I’m back in the classroom, I recognize the difference in myself. I see possibilities where I once saw obstacles, opportunities where I might have noticed only limitations, and beauty in the ordinary moments of everyday life. I still teach English, write columns, and dream of illustrating my books, but I approach those things with a perspective I didn’t have before Jesus changed me.

I once thought stillness meant stepping away from the demands of life. Now I understand that the lessons learned in stillness can accompany us into the busiest seasons. The Lord didn’t have to change every circumstance to change the way I experienced them. He began changing the way I perceived what was already before me.

I asked God to teach my hands to paint, but first, He taught my eyes to see.

Perhaps that is how torn wings still fly—not because every obstacle disappears, but because the One who created us teaches us to see beyond what we once believed was possible.