The Eyes Have It

"My ears had heard of You
  but now my eyes have seen You."
                                Job 42:5


Perhaps second grade was the last time I tested with 20/20 vision.  That first pair of glasses came in third grade for reading the chalkboard. The first few weeks they were "cool," but that coolness faded with time.  Later I only pulled them out when absolutely necessary.  By eighth grade glasses were a full-time necessity.  My vision had digressed, and I chose a really attractive pair of wire rims--with a special feature of photo gray lenses.  No need for sunglasses--these lenses darkened upon exposure to sunlight (even the flash for the camera). Surely that school picture exposes the peak of my awkward junior high years!  Oh, the joy of that first pair of contacts the summer before ninth grade--even though these soft lens had to be boiled every night and their life expectancy was only about 18 months.  For over thirty years now I've relied on contacts to correct my vision, and I'm so thankful for the improvements.


As with many people, some time around that magical fortieth birthday seeing up close became a challenge. After a short run with monovision contacts, I moved to wearing just one contact in my right eye for the last several years.  This eye targets distances and the left one hones in for close reading. How amazing that God could create minds able to compensate and allow each eye to determine its specific task!  


However, I am learning that real seeing is more than just capturing what is in front of me.  It's seeing beyond the surface--behind the curtain.  Because so often what we see determines how we think, I pray that I might be able to see through the Lord's eyes and not my own. In recent days many sights have kindled heartache, but our faithful Father is helping me focus through His lens.  I have received various pieces of mail addressed to "Ms." Lesa Gibson. Seeing that alien title stings, but I can choose not to let that linger and to see the angst that the writer may have endured trying to determine what is appropriate.  (This actually inspired a conversation with my students as I asked them to continue using Mrs. Gibson in their MLA headings.)  When I see an elderly couple together in Walmart, I can choose to see the blessing of a long marriage in a world that seems to dismiss the sacredness of this union. (Jim's parents are celebrating 54 years together this week!)  When I see that gray Dodge truck in the driveway, I can choose to see the kindness and generosity of Dunn Construction and be thankful. When I see Jim's radiant smile in pictures, I can choose to see love and rejoice that he brought such joy to so many.  The only way to see clearly is to allow God to transform my vision.    


Honestly though, there are some days that my eyes get "out of focus," but God  (there's that beautiful phrase again!) is gracious to help restore my sight. Just as He has adjusted my right eye to see the street sign down the road and my left eye to see the words in a book, He empowers me to see the good and give thanks for His gracious gifts.  I cannot do this alone.  Without my Bausch and Lomb contact, I would be in a world of haze. Just as I need this one contact to perfect my surface vision, I need the Lord as my one Contact to perfect my core vision. He alone enables me to truly see.  I wouldn't consider going a day without my contact to see--why would I ever consider going a day without my Contact to see the things that matter most? 


The clarity for 20/20 vision comes through His Word. In His faithfulness the Lord is helping me see Him on ordinary days in extraordinary ways. For this I am so grateful. I will continue to lift up my eyes to the hills where my help comes from.


"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."  (2 Corinthians 4:18)