Kris Mares

I FINALLY went to the eye doctor this week. I’ve needed to go for a long time now, but no vision coverage and being broke means that mom takes a back seat to the kids’ needs. When we moved, I had a couple of contacts left. I was on my last pair and then got an eye infection. That meant that the glasses went on.

I never, well hardly ever, wear my glasses. I just don’t like wearing them. I much prefer contacts. Well, after my eye cleared up, I didn’t have any contacts left, so I had to keep my glasses on. I could see, but not nearly as well. When I would go to the eye doctor and my prescription changed, I would just get new contacts, knowing that my glasses were always “just a back up.”

So three months have gone by and I was finally able to get myself into an eye doctor. Wrestling three small children into an eye exam room is no fun. Add trying to see an eye chart into that mix… let’s just say I’m amazed that we even got the exam done.

So now I have my complementary pair of contacts from the doc. Man I can see so much better. I knew my glasses were several “upgrades” old, but I didn’t realize HOW bad my vision was. I’m so glad that I can now see.

It struck me that my eye experience resembles pieces of a Christian faith walk too. We worship regularly, have God moments in which our spiritual sight is fine-tuned and clarified. We’re doing well.

But then something happens – a hurt, an illness, a sin, a doubt – and our vision is blurred. We may not fully realize how weak our faith has become. How blurry the line between holiness and sinfulness has become. We think we can see just fine.

Then the Holy Spirit intervenes. We get a “check-up” and the scales are removed from our eyes. The Spirit reveals how cloudy our vision has become. We rejoice over our renewed God-sight and repent of the blurred vision we lived in.

As I have enjoyed a day of clear, crisp sight, I fully long for clear God-vision where I can fully see myself and this life as He does. And I rejoice for each time that the Holy Spirit has revealed to me just how bad my vision was (even if those appointments were difficult to get through).

(By the way, I got a great deal on my contacts through Coastal Contacts. Just under $20 a box and that included shipping! “Like” their Facebook page and get a code for 20% off your first order. Use the link above and I’ll get bonus credit too!)