Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Watch Your Step: Walk by Faith, Not by Sight


I love object lessons, don’t you? I find myself far more likely to grasp and remember a concept if I have a relatable, first-hand example to drive the point home (I especially appreciate the example in food form). ;)

Today God supplied me with one-such object lesson (sans food). I had a humbling experience that made me reflect on 2 Corinthians 5:7. It’s a pretty common scripture – it graces postcards, mock eye charts and decorative signs – ‘For we walk by faith, not by sight’.

Whenever I glimpse this verse I chuckle at the irony of how it could so easily be my life verse. Since I lost my vision I take a lot on faith. For instance, I trust that the white creamy substance located near the meat course is gravy. Imagine my surprise to discover not everyone arranges a table the way I expect and my entrée is swimming in tapioca pudding.

Today I made a less messy, but equally surprising, humbling and impactful misstep, literally. A curb rose up to greet me and left me with a wrenched left side as a parting gift. I had no one to blame, but in my embarrassment and pain I wanted to cast blame anywhere but with its rightful owner… me.

When I first lost my vision I went out of my way to appear normal, in fact, I took pride in keeping others in the dark as to my limitations. Through the years, friends and family have challenged me to be more honest and forthright with others about my low vision and to not be too proud to ask for help. Case in point… in the first years of adjusting to difficulty with facial recognition I had some of the most generic conversations as I pondered who I knew well enough to receive hugs from when returning to my hometown. I’d smile and nod, but all the while I’d wrack my brain to figure out who I was talking with. If only I’d had the grace to put aside my embarrassment and pride and just ask who was hugging me I’d have had a much more edifying conversation beyond – “lovely weather we’re having.”

Navigating unfamiliar territory with blinders and a foggy windshield (figuratively speaking) requires a good guide. I am blessed to have several friends and family willing to be my seeing-eye guide, but even so (and without casting any disparagement upon their helpfulness) I’ve been hit by speeding moped, trampled countless wet floor signs, gotten lost in my own neighborhood, am perpetually disoriented in department stores and most recently, taken a tumble up a curb.

Whom I choose to follow, impacts my well-being. And when I choose to rush ahead or lag behind my guide or go my own way to cloak my weakness I come to no good.

The spiritual parallel of this hard truth isn’t lost on me tonight. Our humility and willingness to seek guidance is every bit as important as whom we look to for guidance. I can choose to rely on myself or get swept up in the world’s trends and rhetoric, but without Christ’s faithful, trustworthy & timely guidance, sooner or later I’ll have another curbside close-encounter.

How many times have I run ahead or lagged behind when I felt God’s prompting? Or worse yet, forged my own path to prove my self-sufficiency? And each time, when my plans go awry I shift the blame elsewhere or question where God was – why He didn’t save me from the chaos and hurt of my own making. It’s every bit as pitiful as grasping for a stand bar on the Underground and grabbing a fistful of a sweaty man’s chest!

Proverbs 16:18  First pride, then the crash—     the bigger the ego, the harder the fall.

The takeaway from today’s spill? I may need to swallow my bruised ego and start sporting a new accessory – white cane training here I come?!?! But more important taking practical steps to guard against a bruised ego or backside I’ve been reminded that Christ is always a safe guide! I think Corrie ten Boom sums it up beautifully, “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”

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