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?