On the dark side of the kitchen, I opened an upper cabinet door. Rummaging around, I must have caused something to shift from the very top shelf. A fairly sizable container came crashing down and cracked me on the brow bone—just missing my eye!
Oh, did I fail to mention that the “dark side of the kitchen” was dark because I never turned the light on? Yep. I put myself in the dark.
For a brief moment, the thought crossed my mind that I might be seeing the eye doctor sooner than scheduled.
Then I remembered my most recent visit to the eye doctor—and I laugh every time I think about it.
Since my vision is so low, I have no way to visually detect something like glaucoma developing. Because of that, I have a standing six-month “general eye health” checkup.
At my last appointment, everything progressed as usual. I checked in, had my eyes dilated, pressures checked, and pictures taken. Finally, the doctor came in. My vision was about the same for the small patch I still have, and the overall health of my eyes is good.*
It was a normal visit…until my doctor got ready to leave.
We are usually in a different exam room, where he stands on my right side—the side where I have some upper vision and more light filtering in. But in this particular room, he was standing on my left.
I couldn’t see him.
I sat there with my hands in my lap, listening as he told me he would see me again in six months. Suddenly, I felt something at my hand. It felt a bit awkward. I looked down and realized he was trying to take my hand to shake it.
I returned the handshake, and he left the room.
He had only taken a few steps down the hall before turning around and coming back in.
“I should have known better than that,” he said, sheepishly. “I am your doctor. I know you can’t see down.”
He shook his head, and we both laughed.
I think he had become so familiar with how I’ve adapted to using my right-side vision that even he forgot that my left side is dark.
I think, sometimes, a similar thing happens in our interactions with God.
When we are not walking as we should, we tend to push Him out of our field of vision.
We can never put God in the dark, but we can place ourselves there—especially when we are not looking toward Him.
God never leaves us, but we can lose sight of the connection we have with Him. Sitting in our dark place, we may not realize that His hand is right there, reaching out to us.
If we know Him, there is no need to remain in the dark. All we have to do is look for Him—and He is there.
“This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” 1 John 1:5–7 (KJV)
What are the situations in our lives that have to smack us in the head before we look to the Light and acknowledge the presence of the Great Physician?
Why stand in the dark when we have access to eternal Light?
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What is your relationship to the all-knowing God of the universe? Do you know the peace that can come only from an intimate relationship with Jesus? You can know Him. Jesus Christ—God’s Son, born into human flesh, sinless, crucified and giving His life freely, buried, arisen on the third day—will come into your life and change the outcome of your eternity. You just have to be willing to believe and accept His truth. In addition, here is an excellent page that can give you additional information on peace with God: PeaceWithGod.net.
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* My vision loss can be confusing to some. While my sight is very limited, my eyes themselves are healthy. The loss comes from damage to my optic nerves, not my eyes.
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Restricted Vision, Unburdened Sight 