There once was a girl who was happy, outgoing, smart, and full of life at the young age of ten. She had friends, had a great family, and a whole world to play in. She loved to read, write, draw, dance, hike, and play. She couldn’t have been happier.

One day the little girl’s parents were told she couldn’t see well. She went to the eye doctor and was diagnosed as nearsighted and quickly fitted for glasses. The problem? There were several days between the doctor’s visit and the new glasses’ arrival. There were several days of “I can see just fine” and “people will call me four-eyes” and “I don’t want to”.

It wasn’t until the girl put the glasses on and looked around that she knew. It wasn’t until she saw there were shadows in the clouds, individual leaves on the trees, colors in the sunset, ripples on the water that she knew how blind she had been. It wasn’t until she put the glasses on that she realized she could never again take them off.

The little girl is me. I started wearing glasses to school in fourth grade and not one person pointed or laughed. No one ever called me four-eyes. In fact, I could see the chalkboard better (back then we had chalkboards, not dry-erase boards). I could find my friends’ faces in a crowd. I could read posters. Eventually, I could drive and see whether or not the traffic lights were circles or arrows (this is important in some states!) and read sheet music to play the flute.

I don’t really know who realized I couldn’t see. Maybe it was my mom, maybe my teacher, or even the school nurse. Someone saw the problem and then made the choice to investigate it, to seek more information–even a diagnosis.

This girl is me. I remember about a decade ago my mom noticed something else about me. She noticed that I drank too much and made reckless choices. She noticed I came around less and was sad when I did. She noticed these changes in me and then sought more information–even a diagnosis.

My mom saw with her own eyes, but she couldn’t make me see with hers. Only God could, and eventually, He did. Eventually, God opened my eyes to where I was and what I was doing and I’ve never been able to unsee it.

Sometimes the songs we sing and the prayers we pray are not honest. Truly asking God to open our eyes is a scary thing. Truly asking Him to show Himself to us is a scary thing. Once we see Him we cannot unsee Him.

Has someone in your life revealed something festering? Have you had the still small voice whispering that changes need to be made? Do you see it in your relationships, your family, your stress levels? If someone has noticed that you aren’t seeing quite clearly, it may be worth looking into. It may be that you need to meet your King in prayer and study so that He can open the eyes of your heart. It may be that you need a diagnosis from the Great Physician. We do not always know what is best. We do not always know the truth, do we? We merely know what we alone see.

Looking to the Word

Job 42:5-6
“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear,
But now my eye sees You.
Therefore I abhor myself,
And repent in dust and ashes.”

Psalm 27:4
“One thing I have desired of the Lord,
That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord
All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord,
And to inquire in His temple.”

John 9
Read the entire beautiful story here.