Blink of an Eye

February 19, 2017

Day 50:  Blue Eyes Shining:
"I will lead blind Israel down a new path, guiding them along an unfamiliar way. I will brighten the darkness before them and smooth out the road ahead of them. Yes, I will indeed do these things: I will not forsake them." —Isaiah 42:16

Dr. Anderson's lesson today was simply to take good care of ourselves, specifically our eyes. He shares a story about an older man named Thomas who had "the most beautiful deep-blue eyes" Dr. Anderson had ever seen. Thomas was developing cataracts and was beginning to bump into things, so Dr. Anderson recommended him to a ophthalmologist who was able to fix his vision.

Anderson recommends that we go for regular checkups and take good care of our eyes. "Not only are they the window to [our souls], but they are also the doorway to [our] good health."

The lesson is not particularly deep or deeply meaningful, but I can relate to it.  I am at a spot in my life now where my eyes seem to be deteriorating more rapidly.  Normally, I can sit the standard arm's length from my computer screen and see everything quite well. That is changing.  I need to lean into it now, especially when typing text as I am doing at this moment.  I have glasses that I used to only have to wear for distance and for driving, now it seems I will have to have them to read as well. Looking on the bright side, I can still see and I am most grateful for that.

On a different note, I've been reading Blink by Malcolm Gladwell and I was thinking about how some of what he has to say may apply to my walk with God. It seems to be counterintuitive at first, but I find some truth in it.  Blink is basically about how we gather information and make sense of the world. Most of what we gather is done in the "blink of an eye," subconsciously and intuitively, though Gladwell doesn't like that word, "intuitively." He believes it is used to "describe emotional reactions, gut feelings—thoughts and impressions that don't seem entirely rational." He believes that "rapid cognition," what we gather in the blink of an eye is "perfectly rational." Throughout the book Gladwell delves into a myriad of examples where what one gained in the blink of an eye was actually more reliable and more correct than if one did extensive research. Gladwell claims that sometimes having too much information clouds our vision of the truth. We get bogged down in the overwhelming details and misjudge the situation. We attach meaning to things that aren't really there. I was thinking about how that applies to my walk with God. Sometimes I get overwhelmed by trying to figure out all the details of the Bible—old testament, new testament, how everything is connected, what it means for me personally, what it means for family, what it means for the world. In doing so I lose clarity.

Does it really matter if I understand it all? Can we ever truly know the fullness of God? I think what is most important is to love one another and to focus on that above all else.  I think if we do that, much of what the Bible says about how we should live will be fulfilled. We should, as it says in 1 Peter 3:15, "always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks [us] to give the reason for the hope that [we] have" and that we should do that with "gentleness and respect."  It doesn't say that we need to know and understand everything.  We need to be prepared to answer, to give the reason for our hope.  Looking to Jesus, he is our "blink of an eye" experience.  He is the answer for the hope that we have.