12/19/2011

Now I See


One of the downfalls of being severely near-sighted (and I do mean severely), is that on occasion (read: more often than I care to admit) I get my contacts switched. The right one goes in the left eye and the left one goes in the right eye. Which for most people wouldn’t be a huge deal, except that even in my severe near-sightedness, one eye is much worse than the other!

You’d think I’d notice such a thing right away. Not so. It takes a while. This last time it took around two weeks for me to notice. Not that I didn’t notice my trouble seeing my computer screen. Or the eye strain. Or the difficulty seeing the television or a book. But I attributed my unclear vision to other things. Like tiredness. And dryness. So I added more drops to my eyes and continued on. 

One morning, though, I realized how bad it was. I couldn’t read my Bible. Couldn’t see the words at all. At first, I again cited those other things. Then I thought with horror that maybe my age was kicking in and I needed reading glasses. All through the morning, I struggled, until finally— finally— I thought I ought to switch my contacts and make sure that wasn’t it. 

And guess what? That was it! My world came back into focus in an instant! As I went on with my day, I wondered how many times that kind of thing happens with my spiritual eyes. They get off kilter just a bit. I notice, kind of, but don’t run right away to the most obvious cause, which in the spiritual sense is sin. I attribute it to other things, even to God’s absence from me instead of mine from Him. But in His mercy, the Lord allows my spiritual eyes to dim to such a place that I’m desperate to see, even if it means seeing myself as I really am in that moment. 

I’m so thankful that the Lord has made a way for me to see with my physical eyes, even though they are flawed. But I’m even more thankful that He makes a way for me to see clearly with my spiritual eyes. And it all started with a baby in a manager. 

9 comments:

Regina Jennings said...

Beautiful as always, Anne. How much spiritual discomfort do we endure before we go to God and get it straightened out? Something for me to think about today.

Thanks and Merry Christmas!

Anne Mateer said...

Merry Christmas to you, too, Regina! Love that our paths crossed this year!

Stacy Henrie said...

Great analogy! I'm extremely nearsighted too - can't tell if my husband is smiling or frowning if I'm talking to him without glasses or contacts on. :) I love when I put in a new pair of contacts and everything's clear and sharp.

Anne Mateer said...

Thanks, Stacie. Seeing clearly is such a gift, whether it be with our physical eyes or our spiritual ones!

joy said...

very inspirational blog! Love it:)

Anne Mateer said...

Thank you, Joy!

Unknown said...

awesome is the word.. wish u everyday like Christmas..


IAPS

Anonymous said...

Sorry, Anne, but I'm laughing at you right now. Only because I do those same kinds of things. :)

I'm glad you got your lenses switched back. And I'm glad you can find such thoughtful spiritual lessons in everyday occurrences. I need to take lessons from you!

Anne Mateer said...

I'm glad you laughed, VV! I did, too, when I figured it out--again!