Up to a few years ago, I viewed the world from a haze of severe nearsightedness. Until I received my first pair of glasses, I had difficulty reading the chalkboard, although I sat in the front row at school. I learned to rely on landmarks to navigate around my city as I could not read street signs. I became accustomed to taking off my glasses to read fine print. Friends and family understood that if they saw me walking down the street and wanted my attention, they would have to come closer so I could see them. I though I lived a rather ordinary life in my nearsighted world. Even when cataracts began to form and cloud my vision, I learned to cope until surgery became necessary. Through the miracle of modern medicine, I received special lens implants at the same time my cataracts were removed. My world turned upside down in the most wonderful way possible.
The moment the nurse removed my bandages, I reached for my eyeglasses, but they were of no use to me. I was no longer nearsighted. I entered the world of slight farsightedness. When I reached for my cane; I missed it twice. The cane seemed to be a lot closer than before. As I walked down the hall to a waiting room, I was afraid I was going to bump into the walls. I picked up a magazine. It was all a blur. I blinked, then blinked again to clear my vision, and tried to read – to no avail. My doctor reassured me my vision was fine and recommended I buy reading glasses. Following his advice, I stopped at a nearby drugstore and bought a pair of readers.
Relief washed over me when I finally made it home that day. I was back in the comfort of my familiar surroundings. Over the week, I timidly explored my new world by venturing out to a small grocery store and walking to the mailbox around the corner from my apartment. I marveled that I was able to read street signs 2 blocks away. I could see the individual flowers that made up each cluster on a nearby lilac tree. I spotted a wild hare hop down into the river valley. How much had I been missing? How big my world had suddenly become.
The crunch came on the following Sunday as I walked into my church. It suddenly appeared to me that children were bound and determined to race at breakneck speed directly toward me. People barely avoided brushing against me as they edged past me to find a seat. Why was everyone stepping so close to talk with me? My personal space seemed to have shrunk. The lights were too bright; the lines on the floor were too distracting; the curved layout of the chairs made me dizzy. The service began, and the worship dancers waved their flags, ribbons, and scarves. It was all too much. I put on my sunglasses, and I shut my eyes. I missed my old vision. Sure life was a bit fuzzy back then, but at least it was familiar!
Through surgery, I had a truer picture of the world around me. I had two choices; I could wear sunglasses for the rest of my life or I could learn to align myself with the truth. By the next Sunday, my brain had reprogrammed itself. I could no longer visualize my old worldview.
And so it is with the ways of God. He reveals truth to us and it shakes us to our core. Our world looks different! We are not sure how we fit in any longer. The world we live in no longer seems the same. We need to learn new ways of doing things. We must set aside old habits and patterns. We no longer can relate to our environment in the same way we did before. Fresh revelation brings clarity. More often than not, clarity demands a heart change.
We must embrace such revelation with intent, or we will slowly return to our old ways, allowing old filters to cloud our minds and spirits. As we continue to open our eyes to His ways, we will look back and marvel. How did we ever cope with our old limited sight?
Ephesians 1:18-19 -“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.”
Until next week,
© 2016 Katherine Walden
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