We live by faith, not by sight. - 2 Corinthians 5:7
Sight is a valuable thing we often take for granted and for those who are blessed with 20/20 vision, there is no real understanding of the frustration in the cliché’ “blind as a bat.”
I can never remember having good vision, however, I do remember the day I got my first pair of “cat-eye” glasses and I can remember the day contact lenses entered my life (I thought I’d died and gone to heaven). The bulk of my childhood and my entire adult life have been spent depending on something to aid me in my sight.
Several years ago, I woke up in the wee hours of the morning. Leaning over to the night stand, I patted the top in search of my glasses but couldn’t find them. The natural assumption was that I’d knocked them off during the night. So without a thought, I trudged through the hallway not being able to see more than a few inches in front of me. As I passed by the stairs I glanced down and saw a gray blur. The night before I had been to the fabric store and I must have laid the bag on the stairs. That wasn’t like me to leave a hazard on the stairs that might cause one of the boys to fall.
Without hesitation, I drew my foot back to kicked the bag to the foot of the stairs. What happened next still shames me to this day. The bag I thought I was kicking to the bottom of the stairs was actually our grey cat and a blood curdling yowl pierced the quiet of the house when I lifted a perfectly innocent pet from a peaceful sleep and sent him sailing down the stairs mashing into the front door (scared the cat for life – little fellow avoided me for months).
For years I longed to have good vision. Just over a year ago, I had laser surgery to correct my eyesight. I was amazed – overjoyed to open my eyes in the middle of the night and be able to read the time on the clock. After all these years, I could finally see. I do not take my sight for granted because I realize what a valuable gift I have been given.
Many times we base the steps we take in our lives on the belief that we’re confident we see what might be coming our way. When in fact, we can’t see inches in front of us and we walk completely blind. There has to be guidance for us, something to give us clear sight. When we bring the Father into our lives we learn to walk by faith, trusting that He will be our eyes that are otherwise blurry without Him. We learn to lay our needs, our worries, or desires before Him and then faithfully believe that He will move the obstacles which may cause us to stumble and fall.
Today I asked the Father, “Do you remember Noodles the cat?”
“Oh yeah, I remember. You drop-kicked him down the stairs. Poor cat. Took me months to convince him you’re weren’t out to kill him.”
“It was an accident. I thought he was a grey shopping bag.”
“No, you thought! That was the problem.” The Father brushed the hair away from my eyes clearing the strands so I could see where I was walking.
“We need to think.” I replied.
“True. But you need to trust first. Have a little faith that I have a plan. Let me be your eyes and know that I’ll get you through. Having clear vision helps you walk safely but having sight means you have faith.”
“I get it. Just because my physical vision is blurry doesn’t mean my spiritual sight is marred.”
“Exactly. Walk by faith. Trust me.”
I looked out the back window to the hill behind our house where we’d buried Noodles the cat. We’d been blessed with his presence for twenty years before he passed away. A smile parted my lips. “So God, is Noodles happy in heaven?”
“Yes, indeed. The best part is, I put him in a house with no stairs and everyone in heaven has good eyesight!”
“Nothing like a God who has a sense of humor.” I remarked.
“Nothing like a servant who walks by faith.”
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