Blind Spots
Who would have thought that I would thank God for my husband’s target practice? If Mike hadn’t been in the habit of taking potshots at that tin can, I doubt he would have noticed the wavy lines when he sighted with his right eye. That concerned him enough to make an appointment with the optometrist. After her exam she recommended he see a retina specialist asap. And so began our journey to preserve as much vision as possible in his right eye. It has been a year now that Mike receives regular eye injections for wet macular degeneration.
If you drive a car, you know about blind spots – those areas to the sides of your vehicle that can’t be seen in your rear view or side mirrors. Even with advanced technology like backup cameras and special sensors, there are still areas where our vision or perception while driving is not quite clear. Rain, snow and road residue can impact what we are able to see. Or it could be a loss of focus on our part; maybe forgetting that extra look to the left or right before proceeding through an intersection.
When we recognize that we have an equipment malfunction, a checkup is in order to address the problem. Even with modern technology, there will always be blind spots. I learned more about physiological blind spots with my husband’s diagnosis of wet macular degeneration. In medical literature, this “blind point” describes the place in the visual field that corresponds to the lack of light-detecting photoreceptor cells on the optic disc of the retina. Without a doubt, physical blind spots can impact our health and wellness.
Sometimes we must accept and learn to live with our blind spots. Even though we know this is not ideal, we make do. Perhaps we compromise where we shouldn’t. Or we fight when we should learn to accept. Mike’s left eye plus the vision he has in his right eye--despite the rather large blind spot--work together with his brain to allow almost normal eyesight. But in order to maintain this amount of vision, he knows what he must endure—regular injections of medication in the eye.
What are we willing to endure to fix some spiritual blind spots? Those areas where our lives are lacking in God-light receptors? Some of those blind spots could be selfishness, bitterness, resentment, denial, entitlement, ignorance. These weak spots might involve a decision not to see something that is holding us back. Like the character flaw we can easily identify in another but fail to acknowledge and remedy in ourselves. Or the things we could do to improve our relationship with the Lord or with others.
During these last weeks of Ordinary Time in our church calendar year, would it be beneficial to identify some of the spiritual blind spots in our lives, areas where we could use more of God's light in our lives in order to see more clearly?
Peace & grace to each of you.
