I first had to get glasses about ten years ago. It wasn't long before I switched to contacts. Then, two summers ago, I suffered a corneal abrasion to my left eye. The cause was never found, but, according to eye specialist that I saw twice a week for a month, the surface of my eye had just begun to slough off. Yes, that is just about as much fun as it sounds. I sat in the dark, cold compress on the left side of my face, unable to drive and barely able to walk because I was so off balance, having lost all depth perception, and on pain medication. Time passed and I got better. Now, I am the only one who can still see that that eye doesn't open quite as widely as the other.
Still, even as I healed, I could not bear the thought of putting my contacts back in. Nor did I want to go back to the ophthalmologist. I had had enough of them, I guess. So, time passed. I got a little older and I suddenly realized I'd gone two years without glasses or contacts and I had to squint an awful lot more than I used to. Finally, I returned to the eye doctor and, this week, got my new eyeglasses.
When I picked them up and put them on, I was shocked. I looked out the window, across the highway and I could read the signs on the far side! I had not even known how much I was missing. The condition of my eyes had deteriorated and I hadn't even noticed. In my fear and carelessness, I had put off clarity. It struck me in that moment, standing at the counter, that this didn't apply only to my eyes.
Have you ever been injured and let that drive a wedge between you and clarity, love, grace? Have you let fear, carelessness and procrastination degrade your relationship with the Lord? Or maybe it has prevented you from ever knowing what you are missing, from ever opening your eyes to God.
I pray that your eyes are open, that you do see all He has to offer and that none of us take His many gifts for granted.
Isaiah 35:
4 say to those with fearful hearts,
“Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
he will come to save you.”
“Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
he will come to save you.”
5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
Another one I meant to include:
ReplyDeleteLuke 10:23-24 (NIV) - Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it."
What a wonderful analogy sis! I once was blind, but now I see...love it, love it.
ReplyDelete