There is a phenomenon with young children, "if they can't see it, it doesn't exist." This can create a sense of panic when a parent goes into another room. It is as if she is gone...does not exist. Frequently this is something to keep in mind particularly at bedtime. They need to be able to see you while they are falling asleep.

I was thinking of this coming into New York on the train yesterday. It was very foggy/rainy/snowy. I could not see New York. It was as if it did not exist. I knew better and when we came out of the tunnel, there it was.

We don't always operate this way however. We have trouble believing in a future we cannot see. We have trouble going through change when we don't know the outcome. We have trouble trusting a spiritual reality when we cannot "see" it. We are going through change... as a country, as an economy, as a church, as well as personally for many of us. We can't see into the next room and can get scared. We have trouble seeing God in the next room and can get scared.

Remember the two men on the Road to Emmaus after the resurrection. Jesus was with them the whole time and they never saw him... finally at the breaking of bread their eyes were opened.

Just because at times we don't see him in the future does not mean that he is not there.