New Specs

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My youngest daughter and I had eye appointments a couple of weeks ago an hour north of where we live. Yes, y'all we have to travel that far for things like this. It's the exchange you take for living around a lot of preserved land and bay restoration areas. Oh, heck, it's just small town coastal living! Who am I fooling? Anyway, it ended up that Sean and Ashtyn came along for the ride. If I was going to try on glasses, I wanted Sean's opinion. As Baylee came out from her exam, it was my turn to go in. I sit down with the doctor who seemed a little elderly to still be practicing, and he begins to ask me some casual questions.
"What school do you go to?"
"Oh, I don't go to school. I stay at home and run the rat race of laundry, cooking, and driving people everywhere."
Silence....
"You're the mom?"
Me smiling..... "Yes?"
Him smiling...."I thought you were the big sister....."and I thought he (Sean) was your dad."
Insert hysterical laughter.

Oh, how I was so puffed up that this optometrist who surely had excellent vision, and wasn't so old after all, had such wonderful words flowing from his very young looking lips. He had the be THE best eye doctor on the eastern shore!

Then came the deflation. By the end of visit......guess who needed BIfocals?!

Yeah, my glory came and went pretty quickly, that's for sure. I'm not sure Sean has still let me live this down. Although, just so you know....they're not bifocals. They're "progressive lenses!" I feel like I got my dignity back with that term anyway. :)

So, I ordered the glasses, and returned last night to pick them up. Of COURSE, I had to include this with a "Girls Night Out." Might as well make it into some fun, right?

So, we stopped to get my glasses, and I was blown away when I put them on. I could see! I mean I could see like I'd never been seeing. Like I'd not been seeing for a long time! A. really. long. time. I could see far away, I could read without holding something 2 feet away! I could read without taking my glasses off. I could see people's faces clearly and not like they were wearing some kind of weird mask or had a bad makeup job. I know my friend was thinking I was just a little 'too' excited over glasses, but it was incredible, I tell ya. I had NO idea how poorly I was seeing until I swallowed my pride, decided I didn't care what status I might be given or age I was considered. I got the lenses that I needed so I could see. I've known I couldn't see clearly for awhile, but I wasn't willing to do what it took to correct that. The rest of the night felt like I was seeing a whole new world!

"You have your heads in your Bibles constantly because you think you'll find eternal life there. But you miss the forest for the trees. These Scriptures are all about me! And here I am, standing right before you, and you aren't willing to receive from me the life you say you want." John 5: 39-40 (MSG)

Don't you and I act like this? We walk around with blurred vision so long, we don't even realize we can't see anymore! Things like pride, stubbornness, defeat, unforgiveness, hurts, and many more remain so long that they blind us. We go to the Word and read constantly, but we miss the power available because we've refused to put on the right lenses when we read. The eyes of God through the Holy Spirit awakens us to a fresh perspective and taps us into the power of seeing Him and knowing Him intimately. That is where power and freedom are found.

"The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. " John 1:9-14

Maybe our faith is weak because we miss the forest for the trees. Ask the Spirit to give you a fresh vision and understanding so that the Word is truly alive and active in your life. It's time to get rid of the things that blind -or bind -us, and see Jesus for Who He is. Humble yourself and grab those bifocals, er... progressive lenses! You can see near AND far so much clearly!

"It’s far more than that! I consider everything else worthless because I’m much better off knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. It’s because of him that I think of everything as worthless. I threw it all away in order to gain Christ and to have a relationship with him. This means that I didn’t receive God’s approval by obeying his laws. The opposite is true! I have God’s approval through faith in Christ. This is the approval that comes from God and is based on faith that knows Christ. Faith knows the power that his coming back to life gives and what it means to share his suffering. In this way I’m becoming like him in his death, with the confidence that I’ll come back to life from the dead. " Phil. 3: 8-11