As happens from time to time, this morning, as I was getting my day started with my usual quiet time, the print seemed blurred. My eyes, still adjusting to the morning light, took a while to clear up. By now, of course, the text has taken on its usual revelation. Not only do printed words, but also circumstances and landscapes, take on unusual appearances.
Recently, an online friend wrote, “Things are not always as they appear“. He wrote of several things that are not what they appear to be, such as a cinematic gimmick — manipulating instant mashed potatoes so they appear to be falling snow.
A few years ago, I was in Atlanta for a three-day conference; I stayed at the apartment of Melanie, my daughter. I planned to take her out for dinner after the conference ended; we planned to meet at a Mall when she got off from work. The conference ended early, so I spent the rest of the day in the Mall Food Court. I had brought a book to read. Some gossipy women sat nearby. At the appointed time, my daughter, looking fabulous as always, walked up. I got up, hugged her, and said, “Wouldn’t you know! The conference ended this morning. If I had not left my clothes in your apartment, I would have called you to cancel our dinner, and I could have gotten home by bedtime.”
Over Melanie’s shoulder, I saw eyebrows raise on those gossipy women. Melanie and I turned and left for dinner. When we were out of hearing distance of those women, I said to Melanie, “Wow! Those women thought they heard of a juicy tryst brewing!” We laughed all the way to dinner. Things are not always as they appear.
Now, we are in a new year. Christmas is over, and Santa Claus is packed away until next year. Reality is facing us. Faith and Fantasy are not dual. Fantasy is illusory. Magic tricks are illusory. They deceive the eye, causing belief in imagined structures or motions. Faith is trust built upon a relationship. You have faith in your bank — a trust relationship. You trust in God — from trusted relationships. These relationships have been built by our fathers and mothers of the Faith, over centuries. The crucible of their experience yields a trustworthy pathway.
©Copyright Willis H. Moore 2026
Thanks Willis. That is a good one