BETTER SIGHT

I've worn glasses for being near sighted for over twenty-five years. Never felt any urge to try and use contacts. Part of the reason is because I have this real adverse eyelid reaction whenever anything comes near my eyes. It is so bad that the doctor really has to work hard just to get eye drops in my eyes before an eye exam.

Beyond that the complication of diabetes has added a wrinkle to my sight problems. To the degree that options I might have once consider such as laser surgery to correct nearsighted are no longer a possibility. Plus, since my life threatening crisis a few years ago my right eye now has a flaw in my vision that makes it difficult to read out of that eye.

Fortunately, my left eye does compensate enough that I can still read. Which would definitely be major problem if I couldn't given my calling as a writer. So I am grateful to be able to see well enough to continue to serve the Lord in the way I feel is his will.

The one thing I have learned through this entire process is to keep my options open and to do what I can to take care of my vision. That has included laser surgery to deal with bleeding at the back of my eyes on at least three occasions. It was necessary and I accept it. My vision hasn't improved, but it hasn't gotten worse either. I consider that a blessing, although with all the writing I do it means plenty of times of eyestrain that leads to fatigue. This too I endure for the sake of what I see as my calling.

It isn't my desire to make this strictly a posting about the problems I have with my eyesight. But to simply reflect upon a greater, spiritual relevance in terms of the eyes of the soul.

It is easy at times for one's spiritual eyesight to get blurry. We can suffer inner eye strain from looking too hard to see what is in reality something that needs a different type of vision. By that I mean our mind can suffer from seeing only through the spectacles of tradition. They can get blurry from only seeing what we want to see and not the vision God desires.

Light from above can be blinding if it is not looked at with honesty. For vision from the soul has to be able to gaze beyond the horizon of one's prejudice. I've known too many who sadly were not capable of such better sight because they were not willing to see the truth. It was simply too harsh a view.

Plus there are times when the Lord expects us to recognized when our sight is too blurry. Basically to be able to see that what we are looking at is not quite in focus. We have that inner sense of it being off balance. This is the soul's witness urging us to take a second look. Only it doesn't mean we are always willing to see that image as it was intended to be viewed.

Above all, before we can see clearly we must first lift up our eyes and hearts to the Lord that it is his spirit that will light was we see. Otherwise the light can dim and our vision be too poor to sense it.