New Eyes

"And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him.  

And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, 'Do you see anything?'  And he looked up and said, 'I see men, but they look like trees, walking.'  Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly."

Mark 8:22-25

I went to the eye doctor in September because I thought my seeing had drastically changed.  Come to find out my eye glass prescription hadn't really changed that much.  The problem with my eyes was that I had cataracts.   The eye doctor had mentioned them before saying that some day I would need to have them taken care of.  I really didn't expect it to be so soon (again the doctor said I was a bit young for this) but I also knew that I had a genetic cataract since birth.  I have to admit after leaving the eye doctor I felt a bit discouraged.  Here was yet another thing that was wrong with me that needed fixing.  Dan gently reminded me that it would be okay, we have good medical insurance and we would get through this too.  I love that man!

Schedule appointments, more eye exams plus a couple of more doctor appointments thrown in for good measure.  I have three calendars that I write in.  One on my desk, my IPhone and another one in my purse.  Otherwise there would be much that I miss.  Oh, and its nice that the doctor's office calls to remind me too.  Long story short is on October 15th I had surgery on my left eye.  Then a week later I had surgery on my right eye.  The surgery only takes about 10-15 minutes but the results are life changing.  I now have 20/40 vision in the left eye and 20/20 in my right eye.  I probably still need reading glasses, etc.  But I can actually see now without glasses.

It is an amazing thing to see.  I'm seeing things now that I haven't seen in years.  This is a good thing and a bad thing.  Colors are much more vibrant.  I see more detail, like the individual hairs on my dog's head.  The fall colors, which have always been beautiful, jump out at me in 3-D it seems.  However, I have been cleaning like a mad woman, seeing spots of dirt everywhere.  Totally embarrassed for what I didn't see. Thankful that my family and friends are so gracious with me.

Going through this made me think of the above scripture verse.  Becoming a believer in Jesus has made me see things that I hadn't before.   Before being a Christian I was blind to anything relating to God.  I did know the Bible stories and sang the hymns at church but it didn't mean much to me.  I never asked the questions of why do we do this (going to church) or the "who" is this Jesus.  I would have stayed that way too unless the Holy Spirit came and illumined my heart to see.  In His kindness and tenderness He leads us out of our own little village of self and works a miracle.  Being God, He could have spoke the word and instantly we would be perfect.  And yet change comes to the believer bit by bit and over time.  Sometimes we see the path ahead just like the man in the story ~  'men like trees walking'.  In time we begin to see more clearly as the Lord guides and shows us of Himself.  Happy day it is when Christ spits in our eyes and then continues to lay his hands on us!

Some day we will see perfectly.  I Corinthians 13:12 says,  "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.  Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known."  Until that time we can take comfort and encouragement knowing that God, in Christ Jesus, is leading and showing us wonderful things in His Word.  I am looking forward to the day when we will see perfectly and know perfectly.

His wisdom is our direction,

His knowledge our instruction,

His power our protection,

His justice our surety,

His love our comfort,

His mercy our solace,

and His immutability our trust.

~ Charles Spurgeon

Just like the blind man in Matthew 8, it is a miracle to physically see.  I really can't relate to that but I can feel the wonder of being able to see better now after my eye surgery than before.  There still are cobwebs that are coming down and spots on the wall that are getting washed or painted.  The greatest miracle of all, though, is to have eyes opened to see those things that are unseen by the naked eye.  The colors of the world stand out as glorious because of the life changing lens of the heart.  This is a work of the Spirit which no man can take away.  

My hope for you this Thanksgiving holiday is that, even with all the world's troubles, you can still give thanks for the amazing work of God in your life.  There is vibrant hope in a life lived in the wonderful knowledge of our Savior's saving grace.  It turns a world of gray into a world of fantastic color!