Seeing the Light

Image by Sheffield Tiger via FlickrIt's a challenge at times to understand what God means when His Word tells us to rejoice "always"; then, often in small, unexpected ways, He gives us a glimpse.

Such a glimpse came my way this morning when I took my bike for a ride through Fayetteville. The sun climbed slowly toward the day, so it provided just enough light for the ride. But sky was more white than blue and wisps of gray clouds sat on the horizon. This made it too dark to see well with my prescription sunglasses, so I took off on my journey with them propped atop my head, thinking that the sun soon would make its way over the tree line.

My eyesight is, in a word, awful, so I don't do much of anything without wearing my glasses. I'm not much better than blind. But the streets were empty and so I rode forth with a limited view of the world——everything more than a foot away from me was out of focus——and that's when God allowed me to see through His eyes.

You see, I don't like the fact that I don't see well. I consider it an ailment, an affliction. And I don't think I've ever praised God for making me so nearly blind. I am thankful that I'm not fully blind and thankful for the technology of prescription lens, but I don't "rejoice always" when it comes to my eyesight.

On this morning, however, I found myself stunned by the lights as I rode through neighborhoods and parks. There were street lights and yard lamps and porch lights and tail lights on trucks. And they all took on something special when I looked at them in the dawn without the help of my glasses. They sparkled like stars and the single bulbs unfolded like blooming flowers into eight to twelve lights that formed a circle, much like a ball that might hang as an ornament on a Christmas tree. There was beauty in those lights, a radiance that came from these new layers that I saw only because of my physical imperfection.

So I looked at them and a thought overwhelmed me: Thank you God for making me nearly blind.

It was a small thing, if any gift from God can be considered small, but it's the sort of thing I hope I remember when other troubles come my way. Troubles that seem much bigger. There are layers I don't see. There is a God of the universe who knows our imperfections and our trials and our pain. And when I take the time to trust Him and see things His way, the light——the Light!——is always wonderful. Wonderful.