Can you SEE me now?

It seems with my recent cataract surgeries my focus has been on “seeing clearly”.

This past July on a Wednesday afternoon all of a sudden I begin to not see clearly out of my right eye.  I could not imagine what had happen so the next morning I went to the eye doctor and he said, “That cataract is ready to come off”!

I was shocked and said, “What cataract”?  He said he told me when I was there in Feb. but I guess I had “selective hearing” because I don’t remember him saying anything about that!

It took me 3 weeks to get an appointment in Chattanooga and they confirmed that I did have a cataract in my right eye and my left eye!  I told the doctor I could not tell I had one in my left eye, to which she replied, you will notice it more when we get the right eye fixed.  I told her I felt like I fit the description of “blind in one eye and can’t see out of the other!”  She said "pretty much"!

It was another month before I got to have the surgery. The right eye was first and then two weeks the other one would be done. I had cloudy vision during the entire time. It was very frustrating and was tiring also!  Even though I dreaded the surgery, I was ready to see again.

On the afternoon of the surgery, my vision was still blurry because of all the drops plus the swelling of the eye ball.    I was thinking, “This is not a lot better”.  However, the next morning when I got up and turned on the TV, I could not believe how different it was!  I thought “did I get a new TV over night”. The most amazing thing to me was the sharpness of color!  And after I had the second surgery it was even more amazing! The leaves look greener; the rooms in my house look different and at work the lights are brighter.  When I went for my follow up exam I discovered I have 20-20 vision, the astigmatism was removed and I don’t have to wear glasses for driving.  I’ve worn glasses since I was 16 for driving.  I still have to have those pesky reading glasses!

As I have been going through this experience I have thought often of the story in the Bible found in Mark 8:22-26.

“Some people brought a sightless man and begged Jesus to give him a healing touch. Taking him by the hand, he led him out of the village. He put spit in the man’s eyes, laid hands on him, and asked, “Do you see anything?”

^24-26 He looked up. “I see men. They look like walking trees.” So Jesus laid hands on his eyes again. The man looked hard and realized that he had recovered perfect sight; saw everything in bright, twenty-twenty focus.”    The Message

During this time of “not seeing clearly” I have been thinking about what else I am not seeing clearly in my life.   As I read this scripture I begin to think: Do I need a “Second Touch” from Jesus to help me see clearly other things in my life.

As I continued this journey through the eyes of this scripture I focused on not just my physical sight which now had been restored but my entire journey.  In my spiritual journey I begin to examine if things appeared hazy for example: What does the future hold for me? When difficult times come what I am suppose to seeing? When I have more questions about life than answers, what should I be seeing? Have I been being obedient in following and accepting the things God has placed in my life?

I have to admit that sometimes the life journey becomes hazy and I have contributed to that problem because I have been seeing things in my own eyes rather than looking at life from God’s eyes.  When I try to figure things out or try to fix things I think is wrong, I do have hazy vision.  When I stop and ask for the “second touch” then I begin to see things in a different light. Sometimes it is not until time has passed and I look back to realize how things worked out for the best. It took the challenging times to bring clarity and meaning for the journey.

How do we avoid seeing things as “blurry trees” as the man in the scripture saw?  Perhaps we need to have the “second touch”.  We need to say to God, “I’ve let my vision become blurry, please give me the discernment to look beyond myself and see everything through your eyes.

Even when it seems our vision is still blurry, we can have the confidence to step through the haziness and trust our future is secure in God’s hands?

What seems unclear for you at the moment?  Seek God’s wisdom for your journey through His eyes?

What Time Is It?

I find myself asking that question the last couple of weeks because the battery on my watch is dead.  I have a Seiko watch which was a gift, but it is rather expensive to replace the battery.  So I have not had it replaced at this time.

So I find myself looking at my arm to remember that I don’t have a watch on! So the next question is often, “what time is it”!  I have a clock on my computer and my phone, however, I seem to not be at my desk or have my phone when I need to know the time!

We have a 3 year old in our CLC center who has recently been asking “what time is it?”  One of the teachers’s asked him if he had somewhere he needed to be and he said, “yes, what time is it”!  He had a birthday coming up and his grandmother asked him what he wanted her to buy for his birthday.  He replied, “A clock”! I guess it does not matter that he does not know how to tell time! 

The statement “what time is it” also leads me to think literally about things in my journey of life and pause to wonder, “what time is it really”.  Not what time is on the clock, but the time I spend in my journey of life.  What do I give myself to in the “time department?”

Everyone has 24 hours in a day, yet that never seems to be enough to get everything done that needs to be done.  As I stop and reflect on where my time goes, I have to admit some of it is “wasted” on things that are not really important.

When I think of “what time is it” I am reminded of how precious time really is and that using it wisely is an important part of my journey.  There are many books written about time management.  I think my problem is not so much time management but the need to “evaluate” how I spend my time.  There is a difference.

Some things I think are important to work on include:

1.    There is not a need to get caught up in other people’s drama and waste my time on things that in the end does not really affect me.

2.    I do not have to attend every argument that I am invited too.

3.    Learn to recognize that other people’s opinion does not have to become my reality.

4.    The statement “stupidity is wasting your time on people you don’t even care about” is a daily reminder that being involved with people who I do love and care about deserves more time than wasting time on those people.

5.    If I do not take care of myself, then I will not be able to help take care of others.

6.    Learn to determine what is really important and give priority for those things.  Doing this will bring order and satisfaction in one’s journey.

SO WHAT TIME IS IT?

It is not just numbers on a clock, it is the value we place in our journey and how we choose to spend our time.

If just for one day what do you think would be our biggest surprise if we focus on exactly how we spend the hours in the day?

I think it is time to put into practice the six things I have already mentioned. If we do those things, I think we will really see what time it is.