Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?  The blind man answered, “Teacher, I want to see.” – Mark 10:51

I sit here this morning in awe at what is possible in this day and time.  I had no idea how badly I physically saw this world until I had cataract surgery on my left eye two weeks ago.  I spend a lot of time now playing a game I call “Camera 1/Camera 2.”  I simply sit outside and close my right eye . . . everything is so crystal clear.  I’m blown away at simple things like how beautiful colors are and just how sharply things are in focus.  Then, I go to camera 2.  It looks like I’m in a smoke-filled bar.  It looks like a thick layer of pollen has been placed over everything and has been sitting there for years.  I bet I’ve played this game 500 times in the last two weeks.  I thank God over and over that I live in a day and time where this is possible.  I thank God over and over that He has given me a job with insurance, plus the recourses above and beyond what insurance pays to make it all possible.  I see it as no less than a miracle.

Yesterday as I was walking, praying, and playing my game, I just had the best sense of His presence.  I couldn’t stop thanking Him for saving me, changing me, and growing in me over these past 34 years.  I was spiritually seeing through camera 1.  I was seeing spiritually so clearly.  I saw this world and my own flesh for what it was.   If I had never encountered Jesus, I’d be so lost.  I also thought about how so often I have gone my own way, made decisions based on what the world would say is best, or what my own heart thought was best.  Those decisions always led me to a place I didn’t like.  Those decisions always led me away from God and away from His presence.

How amazing are You, Lord?  I think of all that conviction that swept over me after sitting in that youth service back in 1991.  I knew I couldn’t go to sleep that night without making things right with You.  Last week, I drove to the lake landing where You changed me.  I played my new game.  I looked through camera 1 and was just blown away at the beauty I could see, and the beauty that has taken place in my heart, mind, and soul over the past few decades.  I can’t even imagine how crystal clear we will all see in heaven.  I can’t even imagine the presence we will feel.  I’m so thankful for the very minor taste of perfect vision I have right now.  I’m even more thankful for the minor tastes of heaven You let me feel at just the right moments.  Lord, within a few hours of posting this WMD, I’ll have had the other eye done.  Please let everything go well once more.  You know I’ll thank You with all my heart.  Bless everyone who reads this.  Fill them with Your presence and give them a small taste of Heaven . . . there is nothing like it.  Amen