BLURRY EYES VS. CLEAR VISION

Proverbs 29:18 is one of my favorite verse in the bible, “Without VISION, the people perish”.

The Message Bible states it in a catchier way: “If people cannot SEE what God is doing, they will STUMBLE all over themselves.”

Are we “stumbling all over ourselves” lately? Have the voices of others (social media, news outlets, emails, people’s opinions) drown out the ONE voice we need to hear regarding our family? Are we seeing things from God's point of view, or our own?

About a month ago, I (Joy) ordered new sets of contact lenses. My eyes prescriptions are -8 and -6.5 for both my eyes, so I am legally blind (blame it on the old comic books I read in the dark during my adolescent years). One morning, it was time to replace my lenses with new ones. I took off the old contact lens for my right eye and tossed it away. As I put on the new lens, instead of getting clearer sight, my vision blurred out even more. Huh! "That's really weird", I thought. I tried squinting into the mirror to achieve focus without any success. 

Confused, I quickly ripped open the other lens box for my left eye. Due to my major disorientation, I put on the new left lens ON TOP OF the old one, without removing it first. True enough, now I ended up with major blurry sight for both my eyes. I remember “stumbling all over myself” trying to get out of the door thinking, “Am I really going BLIND this time? Is this what aging feels like? How am I going to drive my kids to school?”

Thankfully, I immediately realized my silly mistakes. Apparently, I’ve ordered the wrong set of lens for my right eye. Instead of -8, I ordered +8! I put on the wrong the wrong measurement my right eye, and put on double lenses on my other eye. Scrambling frantically, I dug into my drawers and found the right pair of lenses. I popped them in and VOILA! Now I have the RIGHT kind of vision again. I can SEE where I was going, and I can drive my kids to school peacefully.

Thank goodness! I’m not aging yet…not now, not yet!

The hiccup that day made me realize that VISION is everything in our parenting journey. Without VISION, we will stumble all over ourselves. When we use worldly lenses, we will often get confused, overwhelmed, and disoriented. No wonder we often feel tired and defeated. We will start comparing ourselves with other moms down the street. We will also start to focus on our children's weaknesses instead of the strengths! We will make decisions based on a distorted views of life.

However, when we put on God’s lenses, we SEE what God’s doing in the midst of our family. Even in their weaknesses, we can use them as opportunities to speak life, pour encouragements, and say prayers over our husband and children. Instead of feeling agitated, we will feel motivated. Their shortcomings no longer become discouraging moments for us, but these will become GOSPEL moments. Golden chances to speak about Jesus' forgiveness and unconditional love for their lives! Putting on God's lenses mean that we adopt His perspective, His purpose, His plan.

The right questions for us to ask God today is this:

“What do you SEE in my children, Lord?"

"What do you SEE in my husband?"

"What is Your perspective, Your purpose, Your plan for our spouse, children, and family?"

Dear Jesus, reveal Your Vision to us, Lord,

we want to see things from Your fresh sets of eyes.

Amen.

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